Civic Offices

Updated 12 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and two 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 domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, flats and specialist housing.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because 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 March 2002 and ended on 24 March 2022. We visited the office location on 15 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

In planning our inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. This included any notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about) and feedback from the local authority.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

As part of the inspection we spoke with seven relatives and 15 people using the service to gain their views about the quality of their care. We had discussions with the head of service for home care, reablement and occupational therapy, the registered manager and service manager. We also had discussions with two schedulers and three care and support staff during the site visit. We received email feedback from a further four staff members.

We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and risk assessments. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff rotas, records of spot checks, safeguarding records and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at the staff training data, accidents and incidents analysis, complaints and governance information.

Updated 12 May 2022

About the service

MK Care and Response (Homecare) provides personal care to people across Milton Keynes, to promote independence and supports people to live in their own homes. This support was provided 24 hours a day; seven days a week and included a night care service and a day care service. At the time of our inspection there were 97 people receiving personal care.

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

The provider was exceptional at responding to the changing needs of people using the service and were quick to adapt the service to ensure they could fully meet people’s needs. For example, where people had specific health needs, staff received specialist training to support them so they could continue to stay in their own homes and achieve their goals and aspirations.

The provider had been proactive by introducing various strategies to ensure they could support people living with dementia to continue living in their own homes. For example, the provider was able to support people living with dementia to access day services. This enabled a joined-up approach and meant people could receive their care and support at the day service.

Seven senior staff had achieved the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) level 3 qualification in Dementia awareness. They used the skills developed from the qualification to support people living with dementia. They worked in partnership with Dementia Friends and Age UK to ensure they were meeting people’s physical and wellbeing needs.

The provider ensured that people had all the information they needed in relation to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) and made sure they understood their rights. People’s communication needs had been thoroughly assessed and extra support provided where needed.

There was some dissatisfaction raised about the lack of consistency of staff attending care calls. During the pandemic and after there had been difficulties experienced with staff leaving or having to self-isolate. The provider had acted swiftly in response and had introduced numerous incentives to attract new staff, which had recently resulted in a successful recruitment drive. People told us that the lack of consistency had not impacted upon their care.

People receiving care and support felt it was delivered safely by staff who respected them and their homes. Risks to people's safety were assessed and strategies were put in place to reduce any risks. People were empowered to take positive risks, to ensure they had greater choice and control of their lives.

People received care in their own homes from staff whose suitability was established through thorough recruitment processes. People received their medicines safely and staff followed appropriate hygiene practices. The provider was committed to the training and development of staff. People benefited from the provider's approach to partnership working with other organisations and its approach to technology.

People were supported to remain healthy and access healthcare services when required. People chose what they ate, and staff supported people to eat and drink enough to ensure their dietary needs were met. People were encouraged to make decisions about their care and to be as independent as possible. Staff maintained people's dignity when providing personal care.

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.

The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of effective governance processes. There was a robust quality monitoring system to enable checks of the service provided to people and to ensure they were able to express their views so improvements could be made.

There was strong leadership and staff were proud to work for the service and felt valued for their work. A positive culture was demonstrated by the attitudes of staff and management when we talked with them about how they supported people.

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

This service was registered with us on 14 November 2019 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was Good, published on 21 March 2018.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection following registration.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cripps Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.