6 July 2017
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We then carried out this focussed inspection on 6 July 2017 to check Regulations 12 and 17 had been met. The evidence in this report only relates to the compliance of the warning notice and not the remaining key lines of enquiry for safe. We are unable to change the rating on this key question until the next comprehensive inspection. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Carol Spinks Homecare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk. We found that all areas referred to in the warning notices had been addressed and Regulations 12 and 17 had been met.
Carol Spinks Homecare is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to adults of all ages in their own homes. The service provides help with people’s personal care needs in Saltash, Liskeard and Callington and the surrounding areas. At the time of this inspection 80 people were receiving support with their care needs.
The service had a registered manager in post who was also the provider. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
All the people and relatives we spoke with told us they were very happy with the service. They felt safe and were very complimentary about their care workers and expressed confidence in the way the service was managed. Three people who had been out when we telephoned, phoned back because they wanted to record their appreciation. One person said, “I really hope they do well in the inspection. They certainly deserve top marks as far as I’m concerned!” Other people commented, “They [staff] chat away to him when they shower him – and it takes his mind off it. I’ve been amazed at how well he has accepted having carers in. He was dead set against it at first but he recognises that they have made life so much better for both of us”, “‘They [staff] are like gold-dust. They are all so good – I do have my favourites though. They are so well trained, so consistent” and “They [staff] treat me wonderfully. I was apprehensive at first of course. But they are so discreet, so understanding. They don’t get embarrassed, so I don’t get embarrassed.”
Staff rotas showed that there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. No-one had experienced a missed visit in the last 12 months and visits were monitored to ensure people received visits on time. People said they were always supported by staff they had been introduced to. Everyone said they felt the care workers were totally reliable. Everyone said they felt their care workers knew them/their relative well and they completely trusted the carers. People said they felt completely safe with the care workers and there were many compliments on their professionalism. People felt the care workers had the skills to do their jobs properly. The friendliness, compassion and kindness of the care workers were also frequently mentioned, and everyone felt they and their relatives were treated as individuals.
People’s care records had all been reviewed since the last inspection and held comprehensive information about how people wished to be supported. Records were regularly updated to reflect people’s needs. Risk assessments had been developed with the local safeguarding team and reflected people’s risks with clear information for staff about how to ensure these were identified and minimised.
The service training matrix showed all staff had received relevant and sufficient training to enable them to carry out their role effectively. A specialist external trainer in medicines administration and management in the community had ensured all staff who administered medication had received training. An updated medication policy was in place. Staff had received training in manual handling and there was an updated lifting and handling policy.
Recruitment records were robust and ensured that staff had received the relevant checks before commencing employment to ensure that people were safe.
There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and drive on-going improvement in relation to the warning notices as the service had reviewed these. Where people raised concerns these were taken seriously and acted upon in a timely way.