Audley Care LTD - Binswood

Updated 12 November 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 was carried out by one inspector who visited Audley Care Limited Binswood on the 19 October 2021. Off site, an expert by experience undertook telephone calls to people and relatives who consented to us calling them. An expert by experience is someone who has experience of using this type of service. These calls were completed on 18 October 2021 and the inspector made telephone calls to staff on 21 October 2021.

Service and service type

Audley Care Limited Binswood provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes. CQC regulates the personal care provided.

The service had a registered manager. This means the registered manager 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 short notice of the inspection because of the risks associated with COVID-19. This meant that we could discuss how to ensure everyone remained safe during the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, such as people’s and relatives’ experiences and statutory notifications. We used any information the provider had sent us from their annual Provider Information Return. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who received a service and five relatives of those who were supported by the agency to understand their experiences about the quality of service. We spoke with five members of care staff who supported people, some who had additional responsibilities and whose job titles included care co-ordinator, quality care supervisor and deputy manager. We also spoke with the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and examples of medication records. We also looked at two staff recruitment files and records that related to the management and quality assurance of the service, especially around managing risk, medicines management, complaints, compliments and systems to manage care call timings.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We also reviewed additional information given to us by the registered manager which provided people and relatives feedback from those who did not want to speak directly with us.

Updated 12 November 2021

About the service

Audley Care Limited Binswood is registered to provide personal care to older people. Care and support was provided to people at prearranged times in a specialist ‘independent living’ service. Audley Care Limited Binswood consists of 114 on site ‘village’ retirement properties. People living on site own their own home and share on site communal facilities such as a passenger lift, lounge, dining room, therapy and gymnasium facilities, swimming pool, a library and the use of an onsite restaurant.

This provider is based on site and provides emergency support to everyone living there. Planned day to day personal care can be provided by staff based at this site or from other agencies who provide personal care and support packages. Not everyone living on site receives regulated personal care. In addition to providing personal care to people on site, this service also supports people in the local community in their own homes.

At the time of this inspection visit, Audley Care Limited Binswood supported 10 people on site and 32 people in the local community so we only looked at the care and support for those people receiving personal care from this provider.

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

People and relatives without exception were complimentary about the service they or their relative received.

People were safe because staff were recruited safely. Staff and the provider knew how to keep people safe and protected from abusive practice. Systems to learn lessons when things went wrong helped to drive improvements and the registered manager notified us and the relevant body at the right times.

People said staff were extremely kind, caring, sensitive and always willing to do what was needed and expected of them. People were cared for by staff who attended training relevant to their roles as well as further developmental opportunities in other health related topics. Assessments were completed before care was provided. This helped to ensure staff had the relevant skills and knowledge to meet a person’s needs.

Staff followed infection control procedures in line with national guidance for reducing the spread of COVID-19.

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.

People’s plans of care were sufficient for staff to provide safe care. However, where people used specialist equipment or were at risk of falling, more detail was required. Risks related to people’s care were recorded and reviewed. There were instructions for staff to follow to manage those identified risks, however some risks, such as risks related to specialist equipment needed to be more personalised. The registered manager assured us this would be addressed. Conversations with staff showed they knew how to manage risk and in some examples, intervention by a GP or occupational therapist had been sought to help keep people safe.

Staff’s knowledge of how to support people was consistent with people’s care records and what people told us. Staff said there was limited or no reliance on agency staff, which meant the staff team worked well together because they knew people and their preferred routines.

Within some agreed care packages, staff had time to support people with their social interests and hobbies. Through the pandemic, government restrictions had impacted on people’s confidence to re-engage with the wider society. Staff spent time with people encouraging them to venture out and to do the things they enjoyed doing. The registered manager shared examples of how this had enriched people’s lives.

People receiving a home care service, their relatives and staff were complimentary about the way the registered manager ran the agency, and how approachable they were. The quality and safety of the service people received was routinely monitored by the registered manager. The registered manager promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people who used the service, their relatives and staff.

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

This service was registered with us on 30 October 2019 and this is the first inspection under the new provider. This provider was previously registered at another location under a different legal entity.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.