Home Instead Senior Care - Luton & Central Bedfordshire

Not everyone using a domiciliary care agency receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People's experience of using this service: People's comments about the quality of the service varied. Most people were happy with how staff supported them, found staff to be skilled, caring and responsive to their needs. However, some people, relatives and staff did not find the provider to be always responsive to concerns raised about the service. They said their feedback was not always used to make consistent improvements. These comments meant that we rated Well-led 'requires improvements', but there were no breaches of regulations.

People were protected from harm by staff who had been trained and confident in recognising and reporting concerns. Potential risks to people health and wellbeing were assessed and minimised. There were enough staff to ensure people's needs were met safely. People were supported well to manage their medicines because staff had been trained to do so safely. Staff followed effective processes to prevent the spread of infection.

Staff had been trained and had the right skills to meet people's needs effectively. Staff were well supported and had information to meet people's assessed needs. Where required, staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink. Staff supported people to access healthcare services when required. This helped people to maintain their health and well-being.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People and their relatives were involved in planning and reviewing care plans. People told us staff who supported them were caring and friendly. Staff respected and promoted people's privacy, dignity and independence.

Information in people's care plans supported staff to deliver person-centred care and in a way that met people's needs. The registered manager worked in partnership with other professionals to ensure that people received care that met their needs. There was a system to ensure people's complaints were recorded, investigated, and acted upon to reduce the risk of recurrence. The service did not always support people at the end of their lives and therefore this information was not included in people's care plans. However, the registered manager said they will include people's wishes in their care plans as soon as

possible.

Audits and quality monitoring checks were carried out regularly to make the required improvements quickly. The provider had systems to enable people to provide feedback about their experiences of the service. The registered manager said they will further improve these systems to ensure people had more opportunities to provide feedback.