TLC Community Services Limited

Updated 11 August 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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 29 June 2023 and ended on 13 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 29 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We 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 7 people who used the service and 10 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with or gathered feedback via email from 7 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, supervisor and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records and medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 11 August 2023

About the service

TLC Community Services Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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

The content and accuracy of care records, risk assessments and medicines records were not always sufficient. We have made a recommendation about improving risk assessments. Management audits had not always identified errors and omissions in records and as a result people were placed at risk of harm.

People were happy with the way care was delivered and told us they felt safe. The provider had effective safeguarding systems in place. Staff received regular safeguarding training and felt confident to report concerns. There were enough staff to care for people safely. People said staff spent the right amount of time with them during visits and no missed calls were reported. The provider completed pre-employment checks on new staff prior to employment and new staff completed a comprehensive induction. The provider had a robust infection prevention and control system in place and staff had training in this area.

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.

Staff delivered care in a person-centred way. People were supported by the same regular team of staff wherever possible. People told us communication with the provider was good. Staff were happy in their work and understood the importance of their role. The provider sought the opinions of people using the service and staff. People felt confident in the management of the service and staff felt well supported.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 September 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to the management oversight at the service, including quality checks and accurate record keeping at this inspection.

We have made a recommendation about improving risk assessment details.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.