Archived: Home First Mildenhall

Updated 23 December 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 and 25 October 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to ensure that somebody would be available at their registered office. The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has experience of using this type of service.

Before the inspection, the provider 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 improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed the information available to us about the service, such as the notifications that they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people who used the service and one of their relatives. We spoke with four members of staff and the registered manager. We looked at three care plans which included risk assessments, guidelines, healthcare information and records relating to medicines. We looked at three staff files including recruitment information, training and induction records and details of when staff were supervised. We also looked at quality audits, satisfaction surveys, minutes of meetings and the management of complaints received by the service. We reviewed information on how the quality of the service was monitored and managed.

Updated 23 December 2016

This inspection took place on the 20 and 25 October 2016 and was announced.

Mildenhall Home First is a domiciliary care service who provide short-term re-enablement packages to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 38 people using the service. The service shares a registered manager and additional resources with two other services in the area.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The service took a proactive approach to safety and carried out a thorough assessment of risk before providing care to people. Staff understood how to safeguard people and report concerns to the relevant agencies. People received their calls on time and staff were able to stay for the correct amount of time to provide care and support. People had a skilled, experienced and knowledgeable staff team who supported them to work towards positive outcomes, as identified by their care plans. People were treated with dignity and respect and staff often went ‘over and beyond’ their duty of care to provide exceptional support for people.

People’s backgrounds, social histories, preferences and cultural needs were included in their care plans and they were involved in reviews and meetings about issues relating to their care. Where people required support with administration of their medicines, the service kept appropriate records and information on their file. The service worked closely with other healthcare professionals to support people towards recovery and rehabilitation.

Quality audits were completed regularly to ensure that the service was identifying any areas for improvement and taking appropriate action to resolve them. People were positive about the registered manager of the service and the staff team shared her visions and values. Staff were supported to develop and be empowered within a positive and person-led culture. People knew who to complain to if necessary, and there was an effective system in place for handling and resolving complaints.