Custom Home Care

Updated 28 December 2019

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

This inspection was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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 domiciliary care 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

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about the home, which had been collected via our ongoing monitoring of care services. This included notifications sent to us by the home. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. We also sought feedback from partner agencies who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the owner, the administrative manager, the manager, the deputy manager, the quality officer, and three care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 28 December 2019

About the service

Custom Home Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people with a range of support needs, living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection, the service was providing care and support to 36 people.

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

People continued to receive good quality care from Custom Home Care. Risks to people were assessed and minimised, and people were protected from abuse. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. People received their medicines, as prescribed, from staff who were trained to provide this support safely. People were protected from the spread of infection.

The service was predominantly well run and staff told us the manager was supportive and operated an 'open-door' policy. The management team completed a range of checks on the safety and quality of the service on an ongoing basis, to ensure any necessary improvements were identified and implemented. The new manager understood elements of the service needed to improve and concerns identified at inspection, the manager was already aware of and actively working to address. We made a recommendation about the management of staff training requirements as records were sometimes disorganised .

People were supported by staff who were competent and skilled. Staff asked people for their consent before providing them with any care. 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 service’s policies and systems supported this practice. Staff supported people to maintain their health, and they referred people to community health professionals when necessary.

People consistently told us staff were kind and they received support from the same core group of staff, which promoted good continuity of care. People said they felt well-treated by staff and had opportunity to give feedback about the service at regular intervals. Staff supported people to maintain their independence and to remain involved in decisions about their care. People's privacy was respected.

People knew how to complain about the service if they needed to. People’s communication needs were assessed, and their care records contained information which supported staff to communicate with people effectively. People’s care records were personalised. This supported staff to get to know people and provide care in accordance with their preferences.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 28 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.