About the service:

Nobilis West is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to a range of people living with mental health needs, learning disabilities or physical disabilities.

There were 117 people receiving care which is regulated by the CQC at the time of the inspection across Hampshire. The provider was in the process of registering a separate office location in north Hampshire.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People were supported to remain in their homes, independent and safe for as long as possible.

¿ People received high quality, person-centred care. People told us staff treated them with kindness, compassion and respect.

¿ Staff knew people well and were passionate about their work. Staff were proud to work for Nobilis and felt well supported.

¿ Staff were supported to spend time with people, helping them to do activities which they enjoyed and valued.

¿ Staff were knowledgeable and skilled. There were good measures in place to support staff and review the quality of care. The registered manager looked for ways to improve services and worked well with the local authority and other agencies.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was previously rated Good (10/10/2016)

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We did not identify any concerns at this inspection. We will therefore re-inspect this service within the published timeframe for services rated Good. We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

This inspection took place on 31 August and 08 September 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be available in the office.

Nobilis Care Limited provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a service to 184 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical frailty or memory loss due to the progression of age. The agency is managed from a centrally located office base in Southampton.

The service had a registered manager. 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 service was currently in the process of registering the manager for the regulated activity of personal care.

We received positive feedback from people about the service. All people who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke highly of the care staff.

People and their families told us they felt safe and secure when receiving care. Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes. Staff received training in safeguarding adults and child protection for when they came into contact with children. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervisions and support. There were sufficient numbers of staff to maintain the schedule of care visits.

Risk assessments relating to people’s individual risks and those relating to their homes’ environment were detailed and helped reduce risks whilst maintaining people’s independence. People received their medicines safely and staff contacted healthcare professionals when required.

People felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was respected. People were supported to eat and drink when needed. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and understood that people had the right to make their own choices.

Staff were responsive to people’s needs which were detailed in care plans. Care plans provided comprehensive information which helped ensure people received personalised care which met their needs. The agency paid each care staff member an extra two hours per month which they could use to enhance a person’s life.

People felt listened to and a complaints procedure was in place. Staff felt supported by the management and felt they could visit the office and be listened to. There were systems in place to monitor quality and safety of the service provided.