Archived: Homecare4U Worcester

Updated 25 March 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 one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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. 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 10 December 2019 and ended on 20 December 2019. We visited the office on both these days.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was first registered with us. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We also sought information from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and the area manager. We spoke with one member of staff while at the office.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke with people who used the service as well as relatives about their experience. We spoke with one member of staff. Other staff were given the opportunity to speak with us over the telephone, however we did not receive any further feedback.

Updated 25 March 2020

About the service

Homecare4U Worcester is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 27 people in their own homes at the time of the inspection. 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.

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

Staff did not always sign people’s medicine records to evidence these were administered. It was also not always clear whether people were administering their own medicines or not. Staff were knowledgeable about their responsibility to report any abusive practice. Risks were assessed and staff were aware of the provider’s infection control procedures.

People did not always receive a service at a time suitable to them to ensure their individual needs were met. People did not always know who would be providing their care and did not receive consistency regarding staff attending the call.

Management systems and audits were not sufficiently robust to identify shortfalls in the service or to make and sustain improvement.

People’s needs were assessed before they commenced a service with the provider. Staff reported improvements in the training provided to ensure they had the skills and knowledge needed to care and support people. People were supported where needed with their dietary needs and accessing healthcare provision.

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.

People were supported by staff who were kind and usually ensured their privacy and dignity was respected. People were able to comment upon the care they received and were listened to.

Different ways to ensure staff were able to communicate with people were provided. Complaints about the service were investigated and acted upon to prevent a reoccurrence.

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

This service was registered with us on 12/12/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the safety of people in relation to medicine management and the governance of the service to ensure people received safe and effective care.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.