17 January 2017
During a routine inspection
Following our last comprehensive inspection of the service in April 2015 we found the provider was not providing the standard of service we would expect and the service was rated ‘Requires Improvement’ in all areas. During our comprehensive inspection in January 2017 we found the required improvements had been made.
We visited the offices of Care Help Line on 17 January 2017. We told the provider before the visit we were coming so they could arrange to be there and for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.
The service had a registered manager. 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. The registered manager was also the provider of the service.
People felt safe with care staff that provided their care and staff understood their responsibility to protect people from abuse. There were processes to minimise risks to people’s safety, these included procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care and for managing people’s medicines safely. Care staff were properly checked during recruitment to make sure they were suitable to work with people who used the service.
People told us they were supported by care staff who they knew and who had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Care staff understood people’s needs and abilities as they visited the same people regularly and had time to get to know people and read their care plans.
People felt involved in their care and care plans provided guidance for staff about how people liked their care delivered. Plans were regularly reviewed to make sure people continued to have the support they needed.
There were enough care staff to deliver the care and support people required. Care staff received the training and support they needed to meet people’s needs effectively. People told us care staff were kind and respected their privacy, dignity and independence.
The registered manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People made their own decisions about their care and had given agreement for the care to be provided. Care staff respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available for people. No complaints had been made about the service in 2016. People and care staff said they could raise any concerns or issues with the management team, knowing they would be listened to and acted on.
The management team checked people received the care they needed by monitoring the time care workers arrived at people’s homes, reviewing people’s care records and through feedback from people and staff.
The provider’s quality monitoring system included asking people for their views about the quality of the service through telephone conversations, visits to review their care and annual questionnaires. There was a programme of other checks and audits which the provider used to monitor and improve the service.