20 October 2016
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on the 20 October 2016 and was announced.
The service had a registered manager who was in day to day charge of the service. 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.
Staff had an understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse .The staff we spoke with were able to demonstrate what they would do should they have any concern that abuse was taking place.
Some people had risk management plans in place. The people we spoke with were aware of the need for risk assessing and were happy with what was in place to support them. However the registered manager was in the process of review all risk. The registered manager told us that an action plan had been put in place to prioritise people’s assessments.
Staffing levels were suitable to meet people's current needs. People told us staff always stay for the full length of the call.
Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service. Staff induction training and on-going training was provided to ensure they had the skills, knowledge and support they needed to perform their roles.
People were supported to receive their medicines when they needed them. We were told by the majority of people we spoke to they did not have any issues with medicines and that they received them when necessary.
Staff were well supported by the registered manager, and had regular one to one supervisions, and spot checks. The staff we spoke with were confident that the support they received enabled them to do their jobs effectively.
People's direct consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met.Everyone we spoke with told us that staff members always gained their consent before carrying out any care tasks. However documentary evidence was not part of the person assessment process. We have made a recommendation about this.
People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported them with this. If required, staff supported people to access health appointments. We saw that people had information about their likes and dislikes with food and drinks, and dietary requirements recorded within their files.
Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. People were involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported.
The service had a complaints procedure in place, where people had made complaints evidence was found that these complaints were recorded and acted upon appropriately.
Feedback was sought by the operational management via surveys which were sent to people and their relatives. Survey results were positive and any issues identified acted upon.
Quality monitoring systems were in place and when audits were being conducted there was evidence that actions were taken to address issues drive future improvement.