Home Care Preferred

Updated 19 July 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides live-in support and personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. The service can provide support to people with dementia, mental health problems, physical disabilities and sensory impairment.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and 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 small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 4 July 2019 and ended on 5 July 2019. We visited the office location and spoke with staff on 4 July 2019. We spoke with people and relatives on 5 July 2019.

What we did before inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, care manager, franchise manager and two care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and policies and procedures.

Updated 19 July 2019

About the service

Home Care Preferred is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care services to adults who live in their own home. At the time of the inspection 12 people were receiving support with personal care from the agency.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People told us they felt safe. People were protected from the risk of harm including potential abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about potential risks to people and were able to tell us how these could be minimised.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. Staff had effective training and the provider ensured the staff team had the skills required to support people effectively.

People's needs and preferences were assessed before they received support from the service and these were reviewed regularly. Care plans gave guidance to staff about what people could do for themselves and how best to provide support.

People and relatives were supported to express their views and preferences and were treated with dignity and respect. People knew how to raise a complaint.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their individual needs and preferences. Staff worked with other health care providers to ensure people’s health needs were met.

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 policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Quality monitoring systems were in place, and the provider completed various audits to assist them in monitoring and helping them to identify how to improve people's experiences.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 3 August 2018 and this was their first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to check whether the provider was meeting legal requirements and

regulations, and to provide a rating for the service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme.