Belgrave Care

Updated 25 June 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors on day one and one inspector on day two.

Service and service type:

Belgrave Care is a domiciliary care service offering personal care and support to people living in their own homes.

The service did not have a registered manager. A manager was in post and had started the process to apply the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to become the registered manager. This means that the provider is 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 24 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 available to support the inspection.

What we did:

Our planning considered all the information we held about the service. This information included

notifications the provider had sent us, to notify us about incidents such as safeguarding concerns,

complaints and accidents. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted commissioners of the service to gain their views.

The provider had completed a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. This information formed part of the inspection planning document.

During the inspection we visited four people in their own homes and their relatives to obtain their views about the care provided. We spoke with the provider, the quality lead, the acting manager, a supervisor and two support workers.

We looked at three people’s care records and a selection of medication administration records (MARs). We looked at other records relating to the monitoring of the service, four staff recruitment records, staff training records, staff meeting minutes and accident and incident records.

After the inspection:

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to corroborate evidence found. We looked at policies and procedures, training updates and the Statement of Purpose.

Updated 25 June 2019

About the service:

Belgrave Care is a domiciliary care service offering personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

Improvements had been made since the last inspection and the service was no longer in breach of regulation.

Improvements had been made to recruitment procedures. Further development was undertaken during the inspection. The recruitment policy was updated and any gaps in employment were explained and a risk assessment put in place where required.

Improvements had been made so that people’s privacy and dignity was respected. People now received care and support from their preferred gender of carer. Staff promoted people’s independence where possible. People received care and support from regular staff that understood their needs well and were kind and caring.

Improvements had been made so that systems for checking on the quality and safety of the service were effective. Policies and procedures and the service’s Statement of Purpose had been updated. The systems used for sharing rotas with staff and the work they completed had improved.

Staff had undertaken induction training and shadow shifts as well as training relevant to their role. They told us they felt well supported in their roles through supervision and team meetings.

Risks to people were identified, and clear guidance was available for staff to reduce risk. People were protected from the risk of abuse or harm. Staff had received safeguarding training and felt confident to raise any concerns.

Medicines were administered and recorded by trained and competent staff that followed best practice guidelines. Staff had completed infection control training, understood how to reduce the risk of infection being spread and had access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

An assessment of people’s needs was completed and a care plan was put in place to meet those needs identified. People received effective care and support to meet their needs and choices Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and respected people’s right to make their own decisions.

More information is in the detailed findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Requires Improvement (Report published June 2018). The rating of the service has improved to Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor all intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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