Holistic Social Care

Holistic Social Care is a small domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. On the day of our inspection there were four people receiving the regulated activity of personal care, which was approximately 80 hours per week.

At the last inspection in June 2017 we identified one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was in relation to one person's risk assessment not capturing their assessed needs.

During this inspection on 5 and 6 September 2018 we found improvements had been made towards meeting the requirements to help ensure people received an improved quality of service and there was no longer a breach of regulation.

The service had a registered manager who had been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since December 2015. 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.

We found there were systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff we spoke with were able to explain the procedures to follow should an allegation of abuse be made. Assessments identified risks to people, and management plans to reduce the risks were in place to ensure people's safety.

People praised the kind and caring approach of staff. Staff were respectful and explained clearly how people's privacy and dignity were maintained. Staff understood the needs of people and care plans were person-centred. People and their relatives spoke very positively about the care provided.

There were sufficient staff available to ensure people's wellbeing, safety and security was protected. An appropriate recruitment and selection process was in place which ensured new staff had the right skills and were suitable to work with people living in their own home.

Staff had a good understanding of systems in place to manage medicines and safeguarding matters, although at the time of our inspection people did not require support with their medicines.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA).

People we spoke with said they involved in care planning and were confident that their comments and concerns would be acted upon.

The registered manager promoted an open and inclusive culture within the service. Carer workers felt valued and well-supported in their work. People had no complaints about the service they received or about the staff that provided their care and support; they were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to should they raise any concerns.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found