Care Direct Salford

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Outstanding

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Care Direct Salford Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of this assessment 26 people were in receipt of a regulated activity. 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. The assessment team consisted of 2 inspectors and 1 assessor. This on-site inspection was announced; we gave the provider 3 days’ notice. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to support this assessment, and documentation available onsite. We conducted our on-site assessment on 17 and 19 December 2024. We looked at 2 of the key questions which were Safe and Well Led and 15 quality statements during this assessment. We rated the service good overall. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals. Staff involved those important to people and took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity. People were involved in planning their care. Overall staff managed medicines well, however, we found shortfalls in how medicines were recorded. A new electronic Medicines Administration Record (eMAR) had been introduced shortly before the inspection, which had not been fully established and had impacted on the recording systems for medicines. We determined no harm had occurred because of this and the registered manager took immediate action to improve the safe management of medicines. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally. People with protected characteristics felt supported.

People's experience of this service

Relatives told us they were involved in assessments of people’s needs. One relative said, “[Staff] did a big assessment at the beginning. Staff come on time and never miss, and they do their work to a very high quality.” People and relatives felt risks were managed well. For example, one relative told us, “We have the reassurance with staff that [person] doesn’t ring me every 5 minutes with issues. I really trust the staff and they prompt [person] with their medicines, and they never miss. I`ve had a couple of calls saying different things about [person] to keep me updated.” People felt able to complain and were confident action would be taken as a result. Surveys were completed to understand people’s views about the care provided. A relative said, “We do survey`s every so often about the care that they provide; we just said that everything was great.” Environmental risk assessments were completed prior to a person receiving any care. People were consulted about support they needed to take their medication and could self-administer if they wished. Relatives gave examples of when they felt staff had gone ‘above and beyond’ in supporting the person using the service. One relative said, “All [person’s] care is done by Care Direct who are marvellous with [person].” Staff effectively shared information about the person to ensure their needs were met. For example, one relative described how the person being supported had required hospital admission on several occasions and staff had been pro-active in contacting relevant professionals to ensure the correct package of care was being provided. People were positive about the quality of their care. They felt safe and were fully involved in planning their care. People said staff were knowledgeable and treated them as individuals. A relative told us, “The managers are unbelievably approachable. There is very good communication, and we trust them. I have no reason to doubt Care Direct.”