CCS Home Care Services (Hillingdon)

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• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We identified one breach of the legal regulations. The provider did not always ensure information in care plans was up to date and that records of the care provided during each visit reflected the support provided. There was a range of quality assurance processes in place, but the systems related to monitoring visit times, ensuring risk management plans were in place and checking care plans and risk assessments were updated following an incident and accident were not robust enough to indicate actions. The provider worked with external providers. Care workers felt they were able to raise any questions or concerns with the senior staff. There were regular meetings and ways for staff to provide feedback.

This service scored 61 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Care workers provided positive feedback about the provider and their experience of working for them. Their comments included, “Everything going good with working CCS because they support the staff in every way. We always get the best things from the company one of them like trainings” and “There are opportunities like QCF [Qualification and Credit Framework] being paid for by the company, paid mileage, no missed payments, and there is professionalism in dealing with related issues.” Care workers would recommend the company as a good place to work.

The provider had a set of values which were a core part of how care was provided. Care workers completed a range of training courses to ensure they understood the procedures to follow so that good quality care was being provided. There were regular meetings, supervision and best practice presentations where care workers could ask questions and share their experiences.

Care workers told us they felt the registered manager and the senior staff were approachable and were fully supportive. A care worker commented, “Yes, the line manager and area manager are easily available for any concerns. There is also a vast amount of training materials available for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge or refresh their knowledge.”

The registered manager had a range of experience in health and social care. They had a number of senior staff to support them as well as input from area managers and an operational improvement manager to provide oversight of the service.

Care workers told us they felt able to raise issues, ask questions and speak up if they had any concerns. The registered manager told us, “We have meetings with staff and there is an open door policy. If they have any concerns they can talk to me, no matter what the issue. They don’t have to wait for quarterly supervision or group meeting.”

The provider had a number of different ways care workers could raise concerns such as individual and group meeting as well as speaking directly to the registered manager. The provider had a whistleblowing policy which included guidance on how to raise a concern.

The registered manager told us, “There is a range of cultural backgrounds for the staff group for example we have an outreach worker from Bangladeshi background to reflect the background of the service user they support.” A care worker commented, “I’ve been a member of staff for over 2 years and work over 40 hours a week, I wouldn’t stay I’d I wasn’t valued and respected.”

The provider had policies for equal opportunities and equality and diversity which included guidance on how to encourage, promote and celebrate diversity within recruitment, their activities and the wider service.

The registered manager explained the service was in the process of reviewing all the care plans to ensure the information was person centred and up to date.

Care workers completed records of the support they have provided during each visit, but these were not always detailed to demonstrate what had happened. The care plans for people who received support with outreach activities or other activities outside their home indicated some of the activities they required support with. The records of the care provided during each visit were not always completed to demonstrate what activities were undertaken and reflect the person’s experience of the support they had received. This meant the provider could not ensure people were always receiving the support required and wanted. The care plan for one person had not been updated to reflect a change in the family support they received so did not accurately reflect their current support needs. Where a person or relative had contacted the provider regarding a change to the support needs the action taken this was not always been updated in the person’s care plan and risk assessment. A relative had contacted the provider regarding a change in a family member’s care needs and actions had been taken to reduce possible risk but the person’s care plan and risk assessments had not been updated to reflect this.

People confirmed the provider worked in partnership with healthcare professional who supported them

The registered manager explained they worked with a number of external partners to develop training for care workers as well as awareness programmes for both people receiving support and their care workers.

We were unable to obtain any direct feedback from partners, but we saw examples of the projects and events that had been organised with the achieved outcomes.

The provider had worked with a range of external organisations to develop training programmes for care workers which included promoting oral health, mental health and medication safety. The outcomes and benefits for care workers were identified for each course. The provider also worked with Diabetes UK to provide information for both care workers and people receiving care on preventing and managing diabetes.

The registered manager explained they kept up to date with best practice and legislation by reviewing the CQC website, attending the local authority registered manager forum and from Skills for Care. They told us the provider had a Quality Improvement Manager who provided updates across the company when new guidance was available.

The provider had a range of quality assurance processes in place but some of these were not always robust enough to identify possible issues. The checks carried out on the notes completed by care workers after each visit did not indicate that information on the activities and outreach support provided were not being recorded. The reviews of the care plans and risk assessments did not identify where the information was not up to date and where risk management plans were required to inform care workers how to mitigate possible risks. The audits of the electronic call monitoring (ECM) system did not indicate that care workers had not been allocated travel time and were able to be logged into 2 separate visits at the same time. This meant the provider could not always identify possible issue with the quality of the service. The provider had quality assurance processes to monitor recruitment and training records.