Archived: In Home Care Ltd

In Home Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency; it provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older and younger adults who may be living with a physical disability, a mental health condition, a learning disability or people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, 46 people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

There were policies and procedures in place to protect people from risks to their safety and welfare; this included the risks of avoidable harm and abuse. Staffing levels were sufficient to support people safely and where there were any short falls these were covered internally.

The provider had an effective recruitment process to make sure the staff they employed were suitable to work in a care setting.

Risks to people were assessed and action was taken to minimise any avoidable harm to people. Staff were trained to support people with an array of health care needs, in line with recognised best practice.

Where people required support to help them manage their medicines, this was done so safely and staff were well trained in medicine management.

People were protected from the risk of infection as staff underwent training and followed the guidance provided.

There were procedures in place so that staff could raise any concerns with regard to safety incidents, concerns and near misses, and how to report them internally and externally, where required. The registered manager analysed incidents and accidents to minimise the risk of similar incidents happening in the future.

People's needs had been assessed and they had a written care plan to meet their identified needs.

People were supported by staff who had the required skills and training to meet their needs. Where required, staff completed additional training to meet individual’s needs. There were no people at the time of inspection that required support with food or fluid intake.

The registered manager involved a range of external health and social care professionals in the care of people, such as: community nurses, social workers and GPs to enable them to be supported to live healthier lives.

The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The service did not currently support any individuals who required assessments under the MCA.

People experienced consistency of care from staff who were kind and compassionate. People we spoke with told us the staff were very caring and kind. People told us they were involved in making decisions about their care and that their wishes were respected. Staff ensured people's privacy and dignity was upheld at all times.

The service was responsive and involved people in developing their care plans which were detailed and personalised to ensure their individual preferences were known. People's care plans had information about people’s care needs, as well as their wishes regarding independence and any risks identified and how to minimise these. If a person’s needs changed then their care plans were updated.

Arrangements were in place to obtain the views of people and their relatives and a complaints procedure was available for people and their relatives to use if they had the need.

The service was well managed and well-led by the registered manager who provided clear and direct leadership, which inspired staff to provide good quality care. The safety and quality of the support people received was effectively monitored and any identified shortfalls were acted upon to drive improvement of the service.