Archived: Home First Service

Updated 11 June 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one adult care inspector.

Service and service type:

Home First Service is a domiciliary care agency. Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

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 two working days’ notice of the inspection. This is because we needed to ensure the registered manager was available in the office.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service the provider is required to tell us about by law. We used our planning tool to collate and analyse the information before we inspected.

We did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection, we spoke with two people currently receiving a service, five people who had recently used the service and three relatives over the telephone. At the agency’s office, we spoke with the two team co-ordinators, two review and assessment officers, three support staff, the registered manager and the provider’s representative. We also looked at three people’s care records including care plans, risk assessments and medicines records, two staff files, the staff training records and records relating to the management of the service.

Following the inspection, the registered manager sent us an action plan and further information about the service.

Updated 11 June 2019

About the service:

Home First Service is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service was designed to allow people leaving hospital with additional needs to have the opportunity of an assessment in their own home before longer term decisions were made. People used the service for approximately two weeks. The staff team was multi-professional and included therapists, social workers and care workers. At the time of the inspection, eight people were using the service.

The service had moved location in April 2019.

People’s experience of using the service:

People told us they felt safe and staff were kind and caring. Staff understood how to protect people from harm or discrimination and had access to safeguarding adults’ procedures. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. The provider operated an effective recruitment procedure to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work for the service. The staff carried out risk assessments to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. People were protected from the risks associated with the spread of infection.

People received their medicines safely and were supported to eat and drink in accordance with their care plan.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. A trusted assessor assessed people’s needs before they left hospital and the assessment was continued on their return home. The trusted assessor approach is designed to promote safe and timely discharges from NHS Trusts to adult social care services.

The provider had appropriate arrangements to ensure all staff received training relevant to their role. New staff completed an induction training programme. Staff were invited to participate in one to one and group meetings. All staff felt well supported and they were complimentary about the approach of the management team.

People and their relatives consistently told us staff were caring and always showed kindness and compassion. All people had an initial care plan, which the registered manager and staff team intended to develop to ensure there was more detail about people’s preferences. A social worker developed a comprehensive care plan usually within three days of people receiving a service. People and where appropriate their relatives had been consulted about their care needs and had been involved in the care planning process. Staff worked in respectful ways to maintain people's privacy and dignity. Staff were motivated and demonstrated a clear commitment to providing dignified and compassionate support.

People were aware of how they could raise a complaint or concern if they needed to and had access to a complaints procedure.

The registered manager demonstrated a strong and supportive leadership style. She led by example and promoted a culture of team work and inclusion for all. Staff felt valued and were proud to work for the service. The registered manager had established robust quality assurance systems and used feedback to make improvements to the service.

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

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first inspection of the service.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow-up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe and high- quality care and re-inspect in line with the rating for the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive information of concern.