CareService24

Updated 5 July 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 16 June 2023 and ended on 20 June 2023. We visited the location’s services on 16 and 20 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered manager and nominated individual . The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We requested written responses from health and social care professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 8 people's care and support records and 3 people’s medicine administration records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment, supervision, and training. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management and monitoring of the service. These included staffing rotas, staff spot check observation records, accident and incident records and a range of the providers quality assurance records, policies, and procedures.

Updated 5 July 2023

About the service

CareService24 is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. At the time of this inspection 78 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

Improvements had been made by the provider which ensured risks to people’s health and safety were fully assessed. Systems and processes had been improved to ensure the provider had effective governance and oversight of the service.

People had detailed pre -assessments and risk assessments completed for them. These were then used to develop person centred care plans which guided staff on how to care for people safely. Care plans were detailed and regularly updated to ensure people received effective care and support.

Staff received the training they needed to support people safely and liaised with health and social care professionals if they needed further guidance regarding people’s health.

Robust recruitment practices were followed. Appropriate checks were completed to ensure only suitable staff were employed. There was an ongoing process of staff recruitment to ensure people were supported safely and effectively. Staff received an induction and were well supported through a programme of regular supervision, spot checks and training.

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the support they received from CareService24. People told us they liked their care staff and looked forward to their visits. People were kept informed of any changes and felt involved in their care. Staff knew people well and understood how they preferred their care and support to be delivered.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People felt safe with staff, who had the appropriate training and skills to provide care safely and effectively.

Medicines were managed and administered safely. People were supported to take their medicines by staff who had received training to administer medicines.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received personalised care which was responsive to their individual needs. Staff had a good understanding of the care and support people needed and provided this with kindness and care, whilst respecting their privacy and dignity. People received their care from a small, consistent team of care staff who knew people’s care and support needs well.

The service involved people and their families in decisions about people’s day to day care and support needs. Relatives and people felt listened to and were consulted about how they preferred to receive their care and support.

People felt the service was well led, friendly and professional. Staff felt very well supported in their roles and spoke positively of the supportive and open approach taken by the management team.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 10 January 2022).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider had made the required improvements and was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 18 November 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At our last inspection we found breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, and systems to manage the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the service had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for CareService24 on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.