Agincare Live-in Care (South East)

Updated 28 September 2019

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 team consisted of one inspector, two assistant inspectors and three Experts by Experience. 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 live in care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing. The service did not have 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. However, we saw evidence that an application had been made to The Care Quality Commission for the regional operations manager to become the Registered Manager.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 17 people and 16 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider and regional operations manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 12 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at six 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.

Updated 28 September 2019

About the service

Agincare Live-in Care (South East) is a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care services to people in their own homes or people in supported living arrangements. The service provides live-in care.

At the time of our inspection 100 people received personal care as the regulated activity.

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 and their relatives were positive about the service and the care provided. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. People received their medicines regularly and systems were in place for the safe management of medicines.

People were encouraged to maintain good diet and access health services when required. People were supported to avoid social isolation.

Incidents and accidents were investigated, and actions were taken to prevent recurrence. Enough staff were available to meet people's needs and people told us when they needed assistance, staff responded promptly. Training records confirmed and people told us staff followed infection control and prevention procedures.

Care was delivered by staff who were well trained and knowledgeable about people's care and support needs. People's needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered to meet legislation and good practice guidance.

People's dignity, confidentiality and privacy were respected, and their independence was promoted. People's rights to make own decisions were respected. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

Agincare Live-in Care is not a new service, following changes to the organisation's structure the provider registered as a new legal entity which meant they needed to register as a new provider. They registered with us on 3 August 2018 and this was their first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned, routine inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.