Archived: Fosse Healthcare - Ashfield

Fosse Healthcare - Ashfield is a domiciliary home care service providing personal care to 183 people within their own homes.

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 risk of people experiencing avoidable harm was reduced because the provider had processes in place to act on concerns raised and informed other agencies where required. The risks to people’s health and safety were assessed, monitored and reviewed to ensure people continued to receive safe care. There were enough staff in place to meet people’s care needs. The provider had experienced staff shortages due to the impact of COVID-19. Contingency plans meant the most vulnerable were protected from harm during this period.

People’s medicines were managed safely. Robust infection control and COVID-19 policies meant the risk of the spread of infection was reduced. The provider ensured staff learned from mistakes with increased training and supervision where needed.

People received care that protected them from discrimination. Staff were well trained and received supervision of their role and assessment of their competency. Some staff had not yet received an annual appraisal due to the impact of COVID-19. People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. Staff worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to provide timely and effective 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.

People felt staff were kind and caring and they were treated with respect and dignity. People’s choices about their care were respected and acted on.

People received care that was personalised to their needs, choices and preferences. Access to an electronic care planning monitoring app was increasing, giving people and relatives additional reassurance that appropriate care was being provided. The provider had systems in place to enable them to provide documentation in alternative formats; making information accessible for all. The provider responded to formal complaints in accordance with their complaints policy.

People raised concerns about the way office staff communicated with them. Some felt they were not always listened to and issues raised were not always acted on. Some felt unable to gain a positive response when contacting the office. Action had already been taken by the provider to address this.

Robust quality assurance processes were in place. These were monitored by the registered manager and made available to senior management to ensure that quality of care provision met the required standards. The registered manager was knowledgeable about the regulatory requirements of their role and they were supported by the nominated individual to carry out their role effectively.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at

Rating at last inspection This service was registered with us on 1 May 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the Safe section of this full report.

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.