DCC Dales Home Care, a Derbyshire domiciliary care agency supporting 15 people, was rated Good overall at its first inspection but Requires Improvement in well-led due to inconsistent culture, low staff morale and concerns about out-of-hours support, training access and digital recording systems. People received safe, kind, person-centred care with effective recruitment, safeguarding, medicines and partnership-working arrangements.
Concerns (9)
moderate
Leadership
: “The culture within the service was not consistently positive. Staff did not always feel supported. Several staff spoke about low morale in the team.”
moderateStaff training: “Several staff spoke about challenges in being able to access their learning in a supportive environment.”
moderateCommunication with families: “Staff told us there was not always sufficient information given to them before they went into people's homes.”
moderateRecord keeping: “There were also a number of concerns made about the reliability of uploading information in rural areas. Some staff felt this impacted on the care they were able to give”
moderateSupervision / appraisal: “some staff expressed difficulties in being able to contact managers out of hours, having to ring several numbers to obtain a response, which led to them feeling isolated.”
minorMissed or late visits: “A number of people we spoke with expressed their expectations had not been met with regard to visiting times.”
minorStaff training: “Induction plans were available for new staff, but these had not always been completed fully.”
minorConsent / capacity: “Assessments about capacity decisions were available to complete; but were not always seen to be completed when indicated.”
minorStaffing levels: “a number of staff had left positions in care and this had impacted on the number of packages they were able to support. Recruitment was ongoing.”
Strengths
· Safe recruitment practices with appropriate checks
· Staff trained in safeguarding and aware of responsibilities
· Personalised, person-centred care plans with people involved in development
· Medicines administered in line with national best practice guidance
· Kind, compassionate care respecting dignity, independence and privacy
Quality-Statement breakdown (22)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementNot rated
safe: Using medicines safelyNot rated
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseNot rated
safe: Staffing and recruitmentNot rated
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionNot rated
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongNot rated
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceNot rated
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink and access healthcareNot rated
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standardsNot rated
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceNot rated
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityNot rated
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careNot rated
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceNot rated
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure choice, control and meet needs and preferencesNot rated
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsNot rated
responsive: Supporting people to develop relationships and follow interestsNot rated
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsNot rated
responsive: End of life care and supportNot rated
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about roles; continuous learning; promoting a positive cultureRequires improvement
well-led: Duty of candourNot rated
well-led: Engaging and involving people, public and staffNot rated
well-led: Working in partnership with othersNot rated