Background to this inspection
Updated
26 March 2020
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide 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 houses and flats.
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 visit because senior staff are often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be available. The inspection took place between 6-26 January 2020. We visited the office location on 7and 8 January 2020 to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures.
What we did:
Prior to the inspection we looked at the information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is a form that asks the provider to give information about the service, tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection we spoke to the registered manager, branch manager, one care coordinator and five care staff. After the inspection visit we received feedback through eight emails and four telephone interviews with staff. We looked at six people’s care records, five staff files and other records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. After the inspection we spoke to 13 people using the service and four relatives and asked them for their views about the service.
Updated
26 March 2020
About the service:
Network Health Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. At the time of the inspection they were providing personal care to 163 people in 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:
People told us they felt safe and that staff were kind, supported them in a dignified and respectful manner and maintained their privacy and independence.
Relatives were positive about how safe their family members were. Medicines were administered and managed safely.
The management strove to be open and continually develop and improve the support people were receiving. They were aware of their responsibility to notify the Care Quality Commission of certain events in line with their statutory obligations.
People were supported by staff who had received a range of training including specialist training in health and social care.
Staff knew people well and relatives felt reassured their family members were well cared for. Care plans and the nature of the support being provided were person centred. However we also found that risk assessments were not always completed in full so that there was a clear overall picture of the risks associated with a person's care.
The provider was not always meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as they obtained signatures from relatives on behalf of people who had been assessed and determined were able to consent to their care by themselves .
Communication with health and social care professionals was effective in ensuring people received joined up care. The provider had aims and standards for the service and told people what they should expect from staff and the service in respect of the quality of care they received.
The provider worked in partnership with other agencies. This supported people in ensuring any changes were raised with professionals and those funding the person’s care needs.
Rating at last inspection:
The service was rated good at our last inspection (published 5 July 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned in line with our inspection schedule or in response to concerns.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.