My Horizon Care Ltd

Updated 5 October 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was conducted 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 houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection, there was a registered manager in post.

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 9 August 2022 and ended on 22 August 2022. We visited the location’s office on 16 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we held about the service including information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We requested feedback from other stakeholders. These included the local authority safeguarding team, commissioning teams, and Healthwatch Leeds. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person using the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We gathered information from three members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care plans, risk assessments and associated information, and other records of care to follow up on specific issues. We also reviewed multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We contacted staff and continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 5 October 2022

About the service

My Horizon Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults living in their own homes. 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. During our inspection visit, the service was caring for 10 people.

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

Feedback from people and most relatives was that care provided was safe and they were confident any concerns raised would be acted upon immediately.

Medication was managed well overall. However, after reviewing all the evidence gathered, we have made a recommendation for the registered manager to make improvements in the recording of medication when this task is the joint responsibility between the provider and relatives of people using the service, to ensure it is in line with best practice and guidance.

Most relevant risks to people’s care were assessed and measures put in place to manage those risks. Staff had a good understanding of how to support people safely and knew what to do if they had concerns about people's safety. Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew how to report concerns. The provider ensured staff followed safe infection control practices and had enough personal protective equipment (PPE).

Staff were recruited safely. People and relatives told us staff mostly arrived on time however, some commented care workers sometimes rushed in and out during their visits. People and relatives told us the service had a positive impact on their lives and staff were kind and caring.

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.

Staff felt well supported by management. There was a system in place to ensure staff were inducted and shadowed other experienced members of staff. Staff received varied training. The registered manager told us additional training would be put in place for staff, if required, to meet the needs of new care packages.

Regular audits on care, medication and staff's approach were being conducted. However, we found issues identified regarding the recording of medication had not been identified and addressed previously.

Relatives and people knew the manager and most told us they were approachable. The registered manager told us about their plans to continue developing the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was ‘Insufficient evidence to rate’ (published on 17 December 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection, we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to initial inquiries to determine whether to commence a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risks to people’s care and medication. This inspection examined those risks.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.