Archived: Mears Homecare Limited - Wolverhampton DCA

Updated 25 August 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 20 July 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the organisation provides homecare services and we needed to be sure someone would be in. One inspector carried out this inspection.

We reviewed the information we held about the service and looked at the notifications they had sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also requested information about the service from the local authority and Healthwatch. The local authority has responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care. We used this information to focus our inspection.

We spoke with nine people who used the service by telephone to gain people’s views about the care and support they received. Not all people who used the service were able to talk to us directly so we spoke with five relatives by telephone. We spoke with the registered manager, two provider representatives, a senior member of staff and seven care staff.

We looked at four records about people’s care and medicines, four staff recruitment files and staff training records. We also looked at records about people’s safety and records showing the processes and actions the registered manager had taken when people or their relatives had raised concerns or complaints. We also looked at the checks the registered manager made to satisfy themselves the service was meeting people’s needs. These included questionnaires people had completed about the quality of the service.

Updated 25 August 2016

Mears Homecare Limited - Wolverhampton DCA is registered to provide personal care for people who live in their homes. At the time of our inspection 150 people were receiving personal care.

The inspection took place on 20 July 2016 and was announced.

A registered manager was 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. 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 was run.

People were cared for in ways which promoted their safety and plans to manage people’s individual risks were in place. Staff understood what actions to take if they had any concerns for people’s safety. The registered manager had worked with other organisations and plans had been developed to help people to stay as safe as possible. Where people wanted assistance to take their medicines this was given by staff who knew how to do this safely.

People enjoyed the company of staff and said they found the staff to be kind and considerate. People told us they regularly were cared for by staff they knew well and they could rely on staff to provide the care they needed at the times agreed. Staff cared for people in ways which helped them to maintain their independence. People told us staff treated them with respect and dignity and encouraged them to decide how they would like their care to be planned and given.

Where people were not able to make all of their own decisions the views of their relatives and other professionals were listened to. People’s care plans and risk assessments were updated as their needs changed, so they would continue to receive the care they needed in the best way for them.

Staff had the knowledge and skills they needed to care for people and were supported to obtain further training to meet people’s needs. Staff understood how to make sure people were in agreement for care to be given and the actions they needed to take to promote people’s rights.

Risks to people’s health were assessed and people were assisted to receive healthcare support when this was needed. People were encouraged to have enough to drink and eat by staff who knew their preferences and dietary needs.

Support was available if people wanted to make any complaints about the service. Processes for managing complaints were in place, so any lessons would be learnt.

Staff told us they felt support by the registered manager and senior staff. Staff understood how the registered manager expected people’s care to be given so people would receive the care they needed in the way they preferred.

The provider, registered manager and senior staff checked the quality of the care people received. People and their relatives were encouraged to provide their views on the quality of the service. Changes had been introduced to develop people’s care and the service further.