Archived: Dale Care - Complex

Updated 15 October 2020

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out 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 homes.

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 provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 August 2020 and ended on 22 September 2020. We visited the office location on 27 August 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority, local safeguarding team and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

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 by telephone with five people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke by telephone with three care workers. We spoke face to face with the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at 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 also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider and registered manager to validate evidence found.

Updated 15 October 2020

About the service

Dale Care – Complex is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 43 people.

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

Overall, people received their medicines as prescribed. Staff had their competence to administer medicines safely checked. The provider had systems in place to minimise and prevent infections. Staff received training on infection prevention and control and how to use personal protective equipment (PPE) safely.

Staff undertook training in safeguarding and knew how to report any concerns. People told us they felt safe using the service and found staff to be kind and caring. People had risk management plans in place in response to identified risks. These were reviewed regularly and in response to any changes to people’s need.

The provider recruited staff safely making sure they carried out the necessary pre-employment checks. Staff had opportunities for meetings and welfare supervisions where they could discuss any concerns or worries.

People, relatives and staff knew who to approach with any concerns and were confident these were addressed. The registered manager and staff promoted and encouraged person centred care to ensure people were treated as individuals. The provider and registered manager monitored the quality of the service by checking all areas of service provision Any identified improvements were made. People's views were sought, and action taken as a result of any feedback.

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 10 June 2019, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection in line with our inspection programme. We have made changes to the way we work due to COVID-19. This is to avoid putting pressure on services that are caring for people. We completed a focussed inspection. During this inspection we looked at two key areas safe and well-led. We do not look at all the five key questions during a focussed inspection. Therefore, the service was not given an overall 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.