Archived: Olympus House

Updated 28 January 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care.

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 the service is small, and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 19 November 2020 and ended on 26 November 2020. We visited the office location on 19 November 2020.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with us on 29 June 2020. We sought feedback from the local authority and clinical commissioning team who work with the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke to the registered manager who was the sole member of staff providing support to people at present. We reviewed a range of records. This included all three people’s care records and staff recruitment records.

After the inspection

We requested the registered manager provide evidence to us so we could review this remotely and in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at records relating to the support provided and spoke with two relatives who were able to speak on behalf of their relations who were not able to talk to us by telephone.

Updated 28 January 2021

Olympus House is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 3 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

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

The provider had not informed the CQC as required of two safeguarding incidents. Also, the service had safeguarding policies and procedures that did not reflect local practices. People told us they felt safe and trusted the staff who came into their home People told us that care visits were never missed and that appropriate measures had been taken to ensure that the spread of Covid-19 was minimised. Recruitment checks were in place to ensure that vulnerable people were supported by suitable staff. People were protected by risk assessments relating to their support and assessed hazards in their home environment.

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 told us staff were knowledgeable and skilled to support their relations. Staff were up-to-date with training and a training programme was in place. People had their health and social care needs assessed ahead of being supported by the service. The service liaised with health professionals when needed.

People told us that staff support was dignified, promoted privacy and was provided in a respectful manner. Measures were in place to ensure that people’s sensitive personal information was kept secure. Any sensory limitations service users had been recorded in care plans so that staff could take these into account.

Care plans were person centred and accessible to those who used the service and their relatives. Policies and procedures could be adapted to the communication needs of people if required. Relatives told us that they had not had to make a complaint and were unsure of how to do this. We raised this with the registered manager who stated that they would reinforce the procedure to service users and their families.

The registered provider had not informed us of two safeguarding incidents as required by law. As a result, we could not assess the service as being fully transparent. In addition to this, only one person (the registered manager) was providing support to people. We were not assured that contingency plans were in place to ensure that any sickness or other absence of the registered manager would not leave service users without support. People were very happy with the service. They considered it to be person-centred, reliable and attentive. Systems were in place for effective auditing of the quality of support provided and the registered manager liaised with other agencies.

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 29/06/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to give the service its first rating.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to good governance and notifications at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider for us to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. 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.