Second to None Care Ltd

Updated 17 December 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. 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 two inspectors.

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

This inspection was announced. Having consideration of the coronavirus pandemic, we made suitable arrangements with the registered manager before we attended a site visit.

Inspection activity started on 3 November 2020 and ended on 24 November 2020. We visited the office location on 17 November 2020. We spoke with the registered manager on 17 and 24 November 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and remotely reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including five people’s care records. At the site visit we looked at six recruitment files.

We contacted people, relatives, external professionals and staff for their feedback of the service. We spoke with four people, one relative and four staff members by telephone. We received feedback from four external professionals via email.

Updated 17 December 2020

About the service:

Medowfield (also known as Second to None Care) is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes throughout the Durham area. At the time of this inspection there were 46 people using the service.

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

People spoke positively about the care they received and said they felt safe. Staff recruitment was safe and there were enough staff to safely deliver a consistent service. People received care and support from a regular team of staff. Medicines were well managed and there were good infection control measures in place.

The service had systems in place to ensure people were protected from abuse and harm. Staff had completed safeguarding training and concerns raised were investigated. Individual and environmental risks were identified and mitigated against. Systems were in place to ensure people would continue to receive support in the event of an emergency.

Care plans were person centred and provided staff with clear information on how to support people in line with their preferences. People and relatives told us they were aware of the complaints procedure and were confident issues would be addressed.

The registered manager had developed good working relationships between staff, relatives and external professionals to ensure people received appropriate care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 28 March 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had made the required improvements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe, responsive and well-led.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Medowfield on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.