Richmond Village Northampton DCA provides personal care for people living at Richmond Village which provides a range of accommodation and integrated services within a village community – including independent living and assisted living. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people receiving personal care. This unannounced inspection took place on 21 December 2016.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 had values and a clear vision that was person centred and focussed on enabling people to live at home. All staff demonstrated a commitment to providing a service for people that met their individual needs. People had positive relationships with staff.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. Staff provided people with information to enable them to make an informed decision and encouraged people to make their own choices.

People received safe care and support. Staff understood their role in safeguarding people and they knew how to report concerns. There were enough staff with the right skills and attitudes to meet people’s needs.

Staff had a full understanding of people’s support needs and had the skills and knowledge to meet them. Staff received updates to their training and had access to regular supervision and appraisal. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities in caring for people and received regular support from the registered manager.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks. They gave information for staff on the identified risks and informed staff on the measures required to minimise any risks. Staff were vigilant regarding people’s changing health needs and sought guidance from relevant healthcare professionals.

Staff were aware of the importance of managing complaints promptly and in line with the provider’s policy. Staff and people were confident that if they had any concerns they would be listened to and any concerns would be addressed.

The provider monitored the quality and safety of the service and staff regularly monitored the support people received. People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive continuous improvement.

This announced inspection took place on 2 March 2016. This domiciliary care service is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. People lived in Richmond Village which provides a range of accommodation and integrated services within a village community – including independent living and assisted living. At the time of the inspection the service supported 23 people.

There was a registered manager in recently in post at the time of our inspection. 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 new manager had recognised that the service required improvement in areas such as supervision of staff, additional and enhanced training in medicines management and more permanent staffing. They had identified the issues we found on inspection and had the support of the provider to implement their improvement plan.

People were safeguarded from physical harm or psychological distress arising from poor practice or ill treatment as staff understood their responsibilities to respond to allegations of abuse and protect people from harm.

People’s care plans were individualised and reflected the support they needed and that had been agreed with them. They benefited from receiving care from staff that listened to them and acted upon what they said. Staff encouraged and enabled people to retain as much independence as their capabilities allowed.

People who required help with their medicines were supported to order, store and take their medicines, however staff required further training to do so safely.

Appropriate risk assessments related to people’s support needs were in place and were acted upon by staff.

People’s quality of care was effectively monitored by the audits regularly conducted by the registered manager and the provider. People knew how and who to complain to. They were assured that they would be listened to and that appropriate remedial action would be taken to try to resolve matters to their satisfaction.

We spoke with four people who used Richmond Village Northampton Domiciliary Care Agency, they told us staff explained their individual care needs to them and that they were asked for their consent before staff provided any care. One person said “I am very satisfied with the service, I know what to expect because the staff discuss my care with me and provide me with the support that I need”.

We also spoke with a relative who told us “the staff communicate with us well and are respectful when they come into our home, they check before they come in to make sure its ok”.

All of the people we spoke with told us they were well cared for and the staff knew the care they needed and how they wished to be supported. One person said “I am very well looked after here” and another person said “the staff are very kind and I feel safe living here”.

People told us that they were supported by staff to prepare their own food and drinks in their apartments or were supported to access the on-site restaurant for their meals.

People told us they thought that there were adequate numbers of staff to support their needs and that staff had enough time allocated to be able to meet their needs.

All of the people we spoke with told us that they were satisfied with the quality of the service provided.

Richmond Village Northampton Domiciliary Care Agency was located within the retirement village and its staff provided personal care to people who lived on site within their own homes.

We spoke with four people during the course of this compliance review. They told us they were advised about their care and support choices that were available to them through the agency.

People that we spoke with told us that the staff knew how they needed to be supported. One person commented “the care staff are excellent, they are usually on time when they visit me, nothing is too much trouble and they explain everything very well. They provide me with sensitive support, I couldn’t fault the care that I receive”. Another person commented “the plans of care are updated as our care needs change and I have all of the equipment that I need".

All of the people we spoke with told us they felt safe and that the staff were respectful, kind and caring. They also told us that they knew how to raise any concerns should they need to do so.

The people that we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the quality of service provided. One person commented “I am so pleased that I chose to move to Richmond Village Northampton, I can not fault the care that I receive from the care staff”.

Some of the people we spoke with told us they thought that the agency was short staffed at times, particularly at night when there was only one of the care staff on duty. This raised people’s concerns about what would happen in the event of an emergency. We found that arrangements were in place for staff to receive extra support from the on-site residential unit in the event of an emergency. We also found that the management were actively recruiting more staff to work at the agency, including late evenings.