Amara Care Limited

Updated 3 August 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out the inspection.

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

The service also provides care and support to people living in six 'supported living' settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice, this was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. We told them when we would be returning for the second day.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information available to us about this service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as safeguarding incidents. We sought feedback from the local authority. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, managers of the supported living services and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four 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.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 3 August 2021

About the service

Amara Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes.

The service is registered to provide support to people who are living with dementia, people who have learning disabilities, mental health needs, drug and alcohol misuse needs, sensory impairment, physical disabilities and people with an eating disorder.

The service can support older people, younger adults and children. Some people lived in a 'supported living' setting, where a small number of people lived together with support, so that they can live as independently as possible. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 26 people.

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

Improvements had been made since the last inspection in the ‘supported living' settings. Staff culture had improved following changes in staffing. People told us they were happy with the service and had excellent staff to support them. Our observations during inspection supported this.

People were supported by staff who were trained to meet their needs and staff were regularly supported to do so with regular supervisions and appraisals.

Care plans were detailed and person-centred and provided clear guidance to staff on how to care for people effectively. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated when required.

The registered manager had implemented a new quality assurance system to carry out regular audits of the service to drive improvements within the service. Regular audits had been carried out and identified actions which needed to be taken. However, accidents and incidents were not always reviewed by the registered manager and actions not recorded. This meant the registered manager could miss opportunities for improvement within the service. We have made a recommendation about this.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The model of care and support provided to people maximised their choice, control and independence. People were involved in all aspects of their care and future planning. Care provided was centred around the person and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management team and support staff ensured people lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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 23 October 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the 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

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. This report only covers our findings in relation to the review of the key questions Safe, Effective and Well-led.

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 findings at the inspection.

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

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.