Background to this inspection
Updated
8 October 2021
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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by two inspectors
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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 12 July 2021 and ended on 22 July 2021, when final inspection feedback was provided. We visited the office location on 13 July 2021
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and five relatives by telephone, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the nominated individual, who is also the registered provider, registered manager, operations manager, assistant operations manager, office and care staff.
We reviewed a range of records in relation to management and administration of the service, including audits, policies and procedures, meeting records and surveys. This included eight people’s care records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision.
After the inspection
We reviewed records and sought clarification from the provider. We meet with the manager to complete an interview and review information they had sent through. We sought feedback from health care professionals who worked with the service
Updated
8 October 2021
About the service
Norvic Healthcare Anglia is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their homes. At the time of the inspection they were supporting 80 people, 70 of whom were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People who used the service usually had the same regular staff who cared for them. They spoke highly of the care received and the experience levels of the staff. A number of the carers had gone 'over and above' their role for example with taking people to the doctors and ensuring they had enough food during difficult times, such as bad weather.
People were informed if their visits were going to be late and there were enough staff to ensure care visits took place and for the allotted time duration.
People knew who the manager was and who to speak to if they had any concerns. People and relatives told us, they felt they would be listened to and actions taken to resolve their issues
We have made a recommendation about reviewing systems to identify when medication has not been given and reasons, taking appropriate action.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 July 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection some improvement had been made, but the provider was still in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 20 June 2019.
We undertook this focused inspection on 13 July 2021 to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Norvic Healthcare Anglia on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.
We have identified a breach in relation to regulatory notifications to CQC, at this inspection.
Follow up
We will ask the provider to complete an action plan, to confirm when and how they will make improvements. We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.