Dove Home Care Agency Limited

People felt safe around staff they knew and were familiar with. Staff understood how to keep people safe and felt assured the registered manager would take action when needed. Risks to people’s health were known to staff and staff underwent background checks before commencing work at the service to ensure they were suitable to support people using the service. People’s support with their medicines was checked and staff understood how to prevent the spread of infection. The registered manager reviewed staff practices to identify improvements where necessary.

People’s needs were assessed so that care was delivered by staff that had the necessary skills to meet their needs. Staff training was regularly reviewed and updated. Staff understood how to seek help and guidance from healthcare professionals and escalate concerns if needed. 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 liked the care staff supporting them and were positive about the support they received. People felt involved in decisions about their day and felt supported to maintain their independence and dignity.

People were involved in reviewing and updating their care so that it still met their needs. People were supported to communicate in ways that enabled them to voice their needs. People understood how to complain, and systems were in place to review and respond to people’s complaints.

People were satisfied with the management of their care and felt the service they received was good. Systems were in place to review people’s care and update it to reflect people’s feedback. The registered manager understood their obligations to notify the Care Quality Commission [CQC] where necessary and undertake investigations of concerns when they were made aware of them. The registered manager worked with local district nurses to ensure people received the care they needed.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 18 July 2017).

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office. Dove care agency is a domiciliary care agency who provide personal care and support for people living in the community with a range of needs. Some people were provided with 24 hour care others had arranged visits to meet their needs. At the time of our inspection 79 people received support with personal care.

At the last inspection in August 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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.

People continued to receive care in ways which helped them to remain as safe as possible. Staff understood the risks to people’s safety and were able to respond to peoples’ needs. Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns. There were enough staff available to ensure people’s needs were met. People were supported to receive their medicines by trained staff who knew the risks associated with them.

The care people received continued to be effective. Staff received training which matched the needs of people they supported. 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 support this practice. Staff ensured people agreed to the support offered before assisting them. People were supported to eat and drink well when part of their identified needs. They were supported to stay well and had access to health care services.

People had built caring relationships with staff and were encouraged to make their own choices and maintain their independence. People were treated with dignity and staff were respectful to people’s wishes. People and their relatives said staff and management team were caring and kind.

People and their relatives’ views and suggestions were listened to. People’s care plans reflected their preferences and people told us the service adapted to meet their needs. Systems were in place to promote and manage complaints.

Staff were involved in meetings, to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. People and staff said the management team were accessible and supportive to them.

People, their relatives and staff were encouraged to make any suggestions to improve the care provided and develop the service further. The registered manager worked with people, their relatives and other organisations in an open way so people would enjoy the best well-being possible. Regular checks were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and action taken to drive through improvements for the benefit of people who were supported by the service.

Our inspection included a visit to the agency's office. This was an announced inspection. On the day of our visit we were told Dove Care Agency provided support to 90 people and employed 68 care workers.

We looked how staff were recruited to the service and how they were supported to provide care to people in their homes. We looked at staff training and we looked how the service measured the quality and standards of care provided.

During our inspection we looked at four care records and four staff files. We spoke with the care manager, office manager and three care workers.

Prior to visiting the office we spoke with fourteen people who used the service to find

out about their experiences of using the agency. They all told us they were happy with the service they were receiving. One person stated, 'Having experienced other agencies, they are absolutely first class"

Care plans and risk assessments were in place but did not always reflect the care required to meet people's needs.

We saw the service followed a robust recruitment process. We saw staff training was not always well attended.

The service conducted checks and audits to monitor the standards of care being delivered.

People using the service were very happy with the care provided. Most of the people we talked to had used the provider for a number of years and felt the service was "good all round". One person new to the service said they were "much better than than she had hoped for". Another told us "all the staff fit in extremely well".

There are processes in place to recruit staff and support their training. All the staff we spoke to enjoyed their job and felt the provider supported them.

We saw evidence of quality management processes to audit the quality of care and deal with incidents and complaints.

We saw evidence that people who use the service were consulted about their care and felt the care was of a high standard.