Background to this inspection
Updated
30 January 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed
to be sure staff would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 January 2020 and ended on 13 January 2020. We visited the office location on 11 January 2020.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one person who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with two professionals who had worked with the service.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at care worker’s medicine competency checks.
Updated
30 January 2021
About the service
Personal Homecare Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency that provides support to people in their own homes. It provides a service to younger and older adults, people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health conditions or dementia. The service's office is based in Oldham, and support is provided to people in surrounding areas. At the time of this inspection three people were using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were protected from the risks of abuse and harm and people said they trusted staff to keep them safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding people. Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. People received visits from regular care workers.
People's needs were risk assessed and their care plans included various risk assessments which provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risk. Staff received training in infection control and told us personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available to them.
Governance systems provided effective oversight of the service. A range of audits has been implemented which were completed on a regular basis. The registered manager worked effectively in partnership with other health and social care organisations to achieve better outcomes for people using the service.
Staff praised the registered manager and the nominated individual, they felt supported and valued. Staff told us, “All staff members are dedicated to the job and give a good service. The clients are well looked after,” “I would definitely recommend [the service] to a family member” and, “[Management] and the staff are great.”
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 August 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 01 July 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. Following the last inspection, the provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, fit and proper persons employed and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Personal Homecare Services Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.