Visiting Angels North Surrey

Updated 12 October 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 carried out by one inspector and 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 homes. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it had registered with us. We used this information to plan our inspection.

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.

During the inspection

This inspection took place on 20 September 2021 when we visited the office location and made calls to people that used the service, their relatives and the staff team.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and recruitment records. 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. We also received feedback from two healthcare professionals.

Updated 12 October 2021

About the service

Visiting Angels North Surrey is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service supported people with conditions such as dementia, mental health and physical needs. Out of a total number of 32 people, 12 people were receiving personal care.

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

Although staff were provided with guidance on how to mitigate the potential risks to people, there were no risk assessments completed in relation to mental health and the support people required in the event of fire in their homes. This was completed by the provider by the time we finished the inspection.

Staff knew the actions they had to take should they suspected a person to be at risk of abuse. Appropriate recruitment checks were completed before staff started working with people. People had support to take their medicines as prescribed. Infection prevention and control measures were in place and followed by staff to ensure safe care delivery.

Although the provider had followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) in practice, the best interests decisions were not recorded as necessary. Staff received on-going support on the job and had to attend training relevant to their role responsibilities. Staff understood the principals of mental capacity and how they had to support people in the decision-making process. Care records reflected the support people required to attend to their health needs and follow a balanced diet.

People appreciated staff that cared for them and described them as kind and caring. People felt involved and had a say in how they wanted to be supported with personal care. Staff encouraged people to maintain their independence skills so they could carry out activities for themselves.

Care plans were personalised and comprehensive which provided guidance for staff in how people wanted to be supported. Information related to people’s communication needs was available for staff who aimed to encourage people to take part in conversations. Systems were in place to gather feedback from people and the information collected was used to improve the service delivery as necessary.

People felt that the leadership at the service was very good. Staff told us that systems in relation to communication between the staff team were well established which helped to share information quickly when necessary. The provider had aimed to improve their systems going forward making sure they achieved consistency and the best outcomes for people they supported. They planned to carry out regular staff meetings and provide staff with opportunities to feedback about the service delivery.

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 since it registered with the CQC.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.

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.