Archived: Right at Home Stevenage, Letchworth and Hitchin

Updated 4 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

This inspection was completed by one inspector 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.

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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission; however, a manager was going through the application process. This means that the provider is 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 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 14 October 2021 and ended on 26 October 2021. We visited the office location on 14 October 2021.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about 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 two people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, manager, senior care workers, care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 4 November 2021

About the service

Right at Home Stevenage, Letchworth and Hitchin is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care. 11 people were receiving support from the service at the time of the inspection.

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

People and relatives felt staff provided care that was safe, and risks were managed appropriately. This was because staff were well-trained, and systems were in place to report concerns. In addition, the provider ensured staff were recruited safely.

Medicines were managed well, and staff received training to ensure they were sufficiently skilled to administer medicines. Staff received training in infection control and people confirmed staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) effectively. Systems were in place to report and respond to any accident or incident. These were followed up and where action was taken this was shared as part of their ongoing learning.

People had comprehensive care plans in place that contained information that was meaningful, to ensure staff knew how people wanted to be supported. 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 and relatives spoke about the positive relationships they had with staff supporting them. Staff also spoke with passion and commitment to their role and wanting to make a difference to people’s day. The provider had links with charitable organisations, as well as other providers. This offered additional support and people being supported benefited from this.

The provider was devoted to providing a good standard of care to people they supported and encouraged positive team working. People, relatives and staff felt the management team were always available and supportive. The management team had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The provider had a governance system in place, which included various audits and monitoring. Actions from these were clearly documented and learning shared with the team.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17/03/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

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.