Care at Home (Midlands) Ltd

Updated 4 November 2024

Date of assessment 13 January 2025 to 28 January 2025. Care at Home (Midlands) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people living in their own homes. We assessed the service due to information we had about the service. At the time of our assessment, there were 65 people receiving support with personal care. During this assessment, we identified a breach of regulation regarding the governance of the service. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment. Staff were knowledgeable about people's individual care and support needs, including risks related to their care. However, guidance for staff of how to manage and minimise risks was overall generic and not always person centred. Guidance about how to meet people’s individual care and support needs was not consistently detailed and in places lacked important information in relation to people's preferences and routines. Some concerns were identified in people experiencing late calls and short calls, this was due in part, to recent changes with the provider’s electronic call monitoring system. However, improvements were also required. Staff received an induction and ongoing training and support. The provider had a pre-assessment and review procedure of people’s needs. Overall, staff involved people in decisions and made sure they understood their care and support to enable them to give informed consent.

Updated 4 November 2024

We received feedback from 24 people and or relatives about their experience of the service. Some people raised concerns of experiencing care calls later than the expected time and sometimes calls were shorter in duration than expected. However, people were positive overall about the service they received, and the majority of people told us they would recommend the service to others. People told us they did not feel the care call was rushed. Comments included, “The carers do the very best they can at all times. This is a good company with excellent carers and staff and yes, I would recommend them.” We received mixed feedback about people being informed if their care call was delayed. Whilst some people advised they were informed, others told us they were not made aware. Comments included, “I don’t get any notification, I get an apology from the carer if they are late, I can live with that.” Overall people told us they received consistent care, from a group of regular staff who knew them well. We found the quality of care plan guidance for staff was not always consistently detailed or personalised, but this did not affect the quality of care people received. We received mixed feedback about people being involved in a review of their care package and receiving opportunities to share their experience of the service. We shared this with the provider who followed it up with people. People and relatives considered staff to be competent, caring, compassionate and respectful. Comments included, “They [care staff] are lovely. A basic thing like getting [relatives] clothes, they make sure they are matching. The carers make sure [relations] lifeline is on. They make sure the home is neat and tidy when they leave, which is important to my relative.” People told us they could contact the office staff easily who overall were helpful and responsive.