Background to this inspection
Updated
2 December 2020
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Expert by Experience who called people who use the service and relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
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 that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the 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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
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 this information to plan our inspection
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two care workers and the registered manager. We also received written feedback from 14 care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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 training data, quality assurance records and complaints and incident data.
Updated
2 December 2020
About the service
Oasis Central London Office (OCTA) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own home. During the time of this inspection OCTA was providing personal care to 75 people by 40 care workers.
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
We found people were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place and care workers were aware of this. Care workers had been recruited safely. They underwent appropriate recruitment checks before they commenced working at the service. Medicines were managed safely and risk in relation to carrying out the regulated activity of personal care were assessed and guidance for care workers was provided. There was a system for managing accidents and incidents to reduce the risk of them reoccurring. There were adequate systems for reviewing and investigating when things went wrong. Care workers understood their duty to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Care workers wore personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons and we were assured that appropriate infection control procedures were in place.
People received individualised care that met their needs, preferences and interests. People were supported, if needed, to express their views and preferences in relation to their care and support. The service identified and recorded how people wished to communicate. Assessments of people’s needs were in place. There was a complaints procedure, which people and their relatives were aware of. There were methods of monitoring the quality of the service. Regular checks and audits had been carried out in areas related to maintenance of the premises, health and safety, medicines management, infection control and management of accidents and incidents.
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 2 May 2019).
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 13 March 2019 during which we found breaches of legal requirements. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Regulation 12 Safe care and Treatment and Regulation 17 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, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion 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 Oasis Central London Office on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.