Updated 13 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 team consisted of one inspector and one Expert 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 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
This inspection was announced.
We gave the service 24 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.
Inspection activity started on 15 December 2020 and ended on 19 December 2020. We visited the office location on 17 December 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included the statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about incidents and events that had occurred at 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 of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider, the registered manager, team leader and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, and staff training records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, the provider’s policies and procedures, and quality assurance records.