Updated 4 November 2021
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
This 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 and support to people living in their own flats in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.
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 four working days’ 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 27 September 2021 and ended on 8 October 2021. We visited the office on 7 October 2021.
What we did before the 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. We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, senior care worker and two care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at staff recruitment checklists and a variety of records relating to the management of the service. These included audits, policies and procedures were reviewed.