Archived: Skipton and Halifax Care at Home Service

Updated 23 July 2015

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 29 April 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications regarding safeguarding, accidents and changes which the provider had informed us about. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also looked at previous inspection reports. We were unable to review a Provider Information Record (PIR) as one had not been requested for this service. The PIR 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. During this inspection we looked around the premises, spent time with people in their apartments and in the dining area. We looked at records which related to people’s individual care. We looked at three people’s care planning documentation and other records associated with running a community care service. This included five recruitment records, a training matrix, the staff rota, notifications and records of meetings.

We spoke with seven people who received a service during the visit, as well as five members of staff and the acting manager. After the visit we sought feedback from the site in Halifax. We spoke with two people over the phone and one relative. We also received written feedback from four members of staff.

Updated 23 July 2015

This inspection took place on 29 April 2015 and was announced.

Skipton and Halifax Care at Home Service provides personal care and support to older people who live in their own apartments. The aim of the service is to support people to live independently. There are two sites, one in Skipton and the other in Halifax. Apartments are situated on each site around an office and communal areas. The service provides personal care to about 20 people. At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager in post, but there was a site manager at both Skipton and Halifax.

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.

People told us that they were happy with the service provided; telling us it was “Excellent” and “First class”. There was a caring culture at the service and staff were committed to providing support in the way people wanted. The atmosphere in communal areas was relaxed and light hearted. People said that they were well cared for and that staff were kind and attentive, always treating them with respect and dignity.

People told us they felt safe. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and how to protect people from harm. Any risks to people had been identified and there were plans in place to make sure these were minimised without intruding on people’s privacy and independence. Medicines were managed safely and people were supported to receive and store medicines in the way they preferred. There was a sufficient number of staff to support people at the times they requested, as well as to deal with any emergencies which arose.

Staff were supported through training, regular supervisions and team meetings. They told us that they enjoyed working at the service and that there was good communication and team work.

The manager and staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are safeguards put in place to protect people where their freedom of movement is restricted. There were no restrictions at the time of our inspection and we saw that appropriate action was taken if any concerns about this were identified.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to services such as a GP, dentist or optician. A district nurse would visit the service if more specialist support was needed. Care and support plans held detailed information about how people’s health needs were to be met.

People were encouraged to be involved in planning their care and to give their views about the service. There were opportunities for people to socialise and meet with managers to discuss any concerns they had. Care plans showed that the support people were received took account of their views and was, where possible, given at the times they preferred. Care plans gave clear directions for staff about the support people needed to have their needs met.

There was effective management in place which made sure the service provided a good quality of care. Staff told us that any issues or identified improvements were acted on quickly. Managers were respected by the staff who told us that they felt able to discuss any concerns.