- Homecare service
Caring Direct Ltd
Report from 10 January 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 13 to 20 January 2025. This service is a care at home agency providing support to adults of all ages. This service is registered for use by autistic people or people with a learning disability. However, at the time of the assessment, no autistic people or people with a learning disability were receiving a regulated activity. CQC only inspects where people are receiving the regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this assessment, 14 people were receiving personal care support. We found 3 breaches of legal regulations in relation to staffing, person-centred care and governance. People did not always receive personalised care and the provider had not ensured staff were deployed appropriately to meet people’s needs and preferences. The provider’s governance processes did not effectively identify or address areas of concern. The provider did not have a robust process in place for investigating and learning from incidents. Risks to people’s safety were not always assessed and documented to ensure they were managed safely. People’s needs were assessed; however, the timing of their care was not always provided in line with their assessed needs and preferences. People were not always involved in making decisions about their care. People were treated with kindness and staff protected their privacy and dignity. However, people’s care was not always delivered in a way which promoted their choice and control. People’s capacity to give informed consent was not always recorded. The provider did not always promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff monitored people’s health and worked in partnership with other agencies. The provider promoted people’s equality in access to care. People were provided with information in formats they could easily understand.
People's experience of this service
People told us they did not always receive their care at consistent times which met their preferences. They said staff were not always punctual and did not always stay the agreed duration. People told us they did not always have a regular team of staff and this made it difficult to build relationships. Comments included, “Time keeping, even allowing for traffic and emergencies, is atrocious”, “The timing is awful”, “Originally, they were reliable. Now the staff keep changing.” Despite these concerns, people told us they knew how to raise concerns and felt safe when being supported. People and those important to them told us staff were kind and managers were approachable and easy to contact. Comments included, “The carers are very friendly and they make me laugh”, “They’re lovely”, “They’re all very kind” and “The office staff are incredibly helpful.”