Coniston Care Scheme Limited

Updated 30 May 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 6 April 2018 and was announced. We called the service 48 hours before to arrange our visit because we wanted to be sure the registered manager would be available to speak with us.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of caring for someone who has used this type of service. The expert-by-experience had experience of caring for older people.

We visited the agency office and with the permission of people who used the service we visited them in their own homes.

During our inspection we spoke with six people who received care from the service. We also spoke with relatives, two care workers and the registered manager. We looked at care records for four people who used the service and at the recruitment and training records for four staff. We also looked at records relating to compliments and complaints and how the provider checked the quality of the service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, including the information in the PIR, before we visited the service. We also contacted the local authority commissioning and social work teams and local health care providers for their views of the service.

Updated 30 May 2018

Coniston Care Scheme was founded in 1995. It evolved through a community partnership including local people, the GP and community nurses, in response to the needs of the local community. It provides personal care and domiciliary services to people living in their own home in the village of Coniston and surrounding rural areas.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service mainly to older adults. Not everyone using Coniston Care Scheme receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At our last inspection we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated any serious risks or concerns.

This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs. Staff training was on going and they had received sufficient training to safely support and care for people. Staff were supported by the registered and deputy manager through regular staff meetings, supervision and appraisals.

When employing fit and proper persons the recruitment procedures had included all of the required checks of suitability.

Hazards to people’s safety had been identified and appropriately managed.

People’s dignity and privacy were actively promoted by the staff supporting them.

People received care from a small team of staff who they knew well and were treated with respect. Everyone we spoke with made very positive comments about the staff who supported them or their relatives.

Auditing and quality monitoring systems were in place that allowed the service to demonstrate effectively the safety and quality of the provision.

The focus of the service was on promoting people’s rights. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us this was an excellent service and said they would recommend it.

People received the support they needed to take their medicines safely. The staff identified if people were unwell and supported them to contact health professionals.

People were asked for their consent before care was provided and the decisions they made were respected.

Further information is in the detailed findings below