Nottingham Home Care

Updated 9 August 2018

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.

Nottingham Home Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

We gave the service 96 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

The inspection activity started on 4 May April and ended on 9 May 2018. It included telephone calls to 18 people and four relatives, we visited one person and spoke with them and their three relatives. We also spoke with three care staff, one senior care staff and the registered manager. We received information from the local safeguarding team and commissioners of the service. We visited the office location on 9 May April 2018 to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. One inspector carried out this inspection with the support of two experts by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has knowledge and experience of using care services.

The provider sent us a provider information return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We looked at four people’s care records to see if these were accurate and up to date. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including quality checks.

Updated 9 August 2018

Nottingham Home Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and provides a service to older adults and younger adults with a physical or learning disability in and around Nottingham City. The service principally provides a rehabilitation care service to assist people who are recovering from a trauma, such as a stroke, to recover their ability to care for themselves.

At our last inspection in December 2015 the service was rated as Good; on this inspection we found the service remained Good in all areas. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

The service had a registered manager in place 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 is run.

People continued to receive safe care. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and this was reviewed to ensure people continued to be assisted in a safe manner. The staff understood how to protect people from harm and the registered manager had reflected on how safeguarding concerns were addressed to ensure these were reported promptly. Some people received assistance to take medicines and records were kept to ensure that this was done safely. There were safe recruitment procedures in place to ensure new staff were suitable to work with people.

Staff were supported and trained to ensure that they in turn had the skills to support people effectively. When people required assistance to eat and drink, the provider ensured that this was planned to meet their preferences and assessed need. People were able to make decisions about how they wanted to receive support to ensure their health needs were met.

The care people received remained good. Care was planned and reviewed with people and the provider ensured that people’s choices were followed. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and upheld by the staff who supported them. People felt comfortable with staff who they knew and satisfied with the support provided.

The service remained responsive. The support plans reflected people’s specific needs and preferences for how they wished to be supported and this was reviewed. People felt comfortable raising any issues or concerns directly with staff and there were arrangements in place to deal with any complaints. Information was being reviewed to ensure it this was accessible to all people who used the service.

The service remained well led. Staff felt supported by the registered manager. Regular quality checks were completed and people could comment on the quality of service provision. People and staff were encouraged to raise any views about the service to consider how improvements could be made.