Braunton Care Limited

Updated 5 February 2020

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 completed by one inspector

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 48 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.

What we did before the inspection-

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.

During the inspection-

When we visited the registered office we reviewed three care plans, three recruitment files and spoke with the registered manager and two other staff. We also looked at a range of records relating to their quality assurance processes. This included audits of the medicine administration records, care plan and daily record audits and spot check audits. As part of the inspection we also spoke by phone to six relatives and two people using the service. We also spoke with four care staff by phone to gain their views of how well the service was run and met peoples needs.

After the inspection –

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one professional who regularly liaised the service.

Updated 5 February 2020

About the service

Braunton Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care in people’s own homes. At the time of this inspection they were supporting approximately 50 people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People said their needs were being well met by a staff team who were reliable, turned up on time and who knew how to support them.

People said staff were kind, caring and compassionate towards them. Their dignity and privacy was upheld at all times. People said staff understood their needs and wishes and were helpful in doing extra tasks if needed. For example one said “All the carers are lovely. They offer the little extras which is nice.”

People and relatives said the service was reliable. They said care staff usually arrived on time and there were no missed visits. People were made aware of which staff would be visiting them for each visit as they were given a weekly rota.

Care and support was well planned. Where possible an assessment of needs was completed before a service was started. When people needed urgent support, the agency still ensured as much information was gathered as possible, so they could be sure they could meet that individuals needs.

Risk assessments included the environment staff worked in, as well as individual risk assessments around people’s healthcare conditions. These assessments included details of what should be done to mitigate any risks which had been identified.

Staff knew people’s needs and wishes and worked in a way which ensured their independence was fully promoted. People’s medicines were safely administered.

Staff had good support, training and supervision to enable them to do their job safely and effectively. Recruitment processes ensured only staff who had been checked as being suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable were employed.

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.

There were quality assurance processes in place to review and improve the care and support being delivered. This helped to ensure good outcomes for people.

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

Rating As the last inspection this service was rated as good (report published May 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.