Home Support Matters Beccles

Updated 28 March 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

Two inspectors carried out this inspection and an 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 including supporting older people.

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 a short notice period of the inspection to seek consent from people so we could complete home visits from an inspector or a telephone call from an expert by experience. The inspection activity started on 10 March 2020 and ended on 13 March 2020. We visited the office location on 12 and 13 March 2020.

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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. On this occasion, we did not ask the provider to complete a 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided on the telephone and we visited five people in their homes. We spoke with the registered manager, operations manager, quality assurance manager, quality officer, and ten members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 28 March 2020

About the service

Home Support Matters Beccles is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care to people living in their own houses and flats across Norfolk and Suffolk. The service supports younger adults, older people, people living with dementia and people with physical disabilities living in their own homes. The provider had developed a service in conjunction with the health and social care commissions. This offered support to emergency calls or to provide an interim support to prevent a person having to go to hospital. At the time of this inspection 185 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were protected from the risk of harm or possible infections. Current guidance was followed, and new measures implemented to protect people from any possible risk to staff or people. Risk to the home environments or tasks being performed were also assessed and measures put in place to reduce the risk or provide staff with agreed practices.

When people required medicine support, this was provided by staff who had received the required training and competency checks. Medicine records were checked to ensure they met current best practice.

Staff had received the required knowledge and training for their roles, this included when specialist training was required on a bespoke basis. Any new staff had a planned induction, which included training and support from experienced staff. Best practice guidance was embedded into the training and care planning.

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. Staff knew the importance of asking for consent and promoted this.

People had detailed care plans which reflected their individual needs. Health care was promoted to ensure people received the best care at the right time. Staff worked with professionals to include any specific needs into the planned care. Some people had support with their meals. Any preferences or dietary requirements were detailed and shared with staff to ensure people received enough food and drink for their needs.

There was a complaints policy included in the service user guide placed within each home. We saw any concerns raised had been addressed and responded to formally. There was no one who was receiving end of life care, however staff had received training in this area and were able to provide this service when required.

Staff had established positive relationships with people, and this had resulted in kind and considerate care being delivered. Consideration was made to preferences of gender to maintain people’s dignity. Choices about care and daily routines were respected.

The provider and registered manager completed a range of quality checks on the service provided. This included reviews on the service, records and the data in relation to the calls people received. Any areas identified from these reviews were addressed and changes recorded and shared with staff. People’s views were sought, and any aspects used to drive improvements. There were clear partnerships which had been developed with professionals and community organisations. The registered manager was open and ensured we received any notifications in relation to events or incidents.

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

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered with us in January 2019 and this is the first inspection

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered with us.

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.