West Berkshire Council Home Care Service

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

This inspection took place on 19 February 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider prior notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 49 people.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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 supported us with the inspection.

People felt safe while supported by the staff. Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these to keep people safe.

Staff training records indicated which training was considered mandatory. Most of the staff were up to date with their mandatory training but many were due refresher training. The registered manager had planned and booked training when necessary to ensure all staff had the appropriate knowledge to support people. We have made a recommendation for the registered manager to refer to the current best practice guidance on ongoing training for social care staff.

Staff had ongoing support via regular supervisions and appraisals. They felt supported by the registered manager and senior staff and maintained good team work.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their individual needs. People were informed about the changes to and timings of their visits. The service had an appropriate recruitment procedure to follow before new staff were employed to work with people. They checked to ensure staff were of good character and suitable for their role.

People were supported by a dedicated and caring team of staff and the registered manager, helping them to build and maintain their independence and live their life to the fullest. People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity were promoted. People and relatives felt their care workers were excellent and supported them in the way they wanted. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people and enabled them to improve and/or maintain their independence with personal care. The whole staff team were motivated and proud of the service they provided to the people.

The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. The service assessed risks to people's personal safety, as well as, staff and visitors, and plans were in place to minimise those risks. There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required.

People received support that was individualised to their specific needs. Their needs and support plans were kept under review and amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights were promoted.

Staff felt they worked really well together and supported each other, which benefitted the people supported. Staff thought the registered manager and senior staff team was very supportive and approachable. They worked with them as a team and they had good communication. The registered manager had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the service and the quality of the service being delivered. The registered manager was able to identify issues and improvements necessary and action was being taken to address these promptly. They praised the staff team for their dedication and hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found