28 April 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Civicare (Beds, Herts & Bucks), is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own home. The service was supporting 87 people at the time of the inspection. There were 48 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care at the time of the inspection.
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 registered manager had systems in place to make sure that staff were suitable for their role. All staff had checks on their employment history and a criminal record check.
People and relatives told us communication was good and they were encouraged to give feedback on the service. They felt able to raise concerns or suggestions to the registered manager.
People were very happy with the care they received. People told us they felt safe and understood as they had a regular team of staff who they knew well.
One person said, “I feel very safe. Staff have very good timekeeping, and I have the same carers most days, but whoever comes in is very nice. [Staff] collect my medication and will always make sure I take it before I leave. They know my likes and dislikes and I am always treated with kindness and respect. My impression of the service is they are great.”
People were supported by staff who were trained in how to keep them safe and knew how to identify and report any concerns. Staff were encouraged to be involved in scenario-based learning. This helped staff to understand how they might respond and apply the learning to any future incidents or concerns.
People told us staff always collected and administered their medicines correctly. Staff were trained in safe administration of medicines and received regular checks on their knowledge ad practice by the registered manager or a senior supervisor.
Staff had received training in infection prevention and control which included safe management of the risks related to COVID-19. People told us staff always wore the correct gloves, aprons and masks and washed their hands when supporting them in their home.
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 27 June 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 07 May 2019. 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 good governance and fit and proper persons employed.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they 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 and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. 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 Civicare (Beds, Herts & Bucks) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.