Background to this inspection
Updated
15 February 2022
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.
Inspection team
One inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they 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 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.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager and managing director.
We reviewed a range of records, including five people’s care records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support and a range of records relating to how the service operated and was managed.
After the inspection
We reviewed staff training records and the providers policies and procedures.
Updated
15 February 2022
Care 4 U (Midlands) Limited is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing the regulated activity personal care to 109 people. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 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
People and relatives spoke positively about the service they received. Staff knew how to keep people safe and protect them from harm. Staff were recruited safely. Risks associated with people’s care and their home environments were identified, assessed and well managed. Staff were trained in medicine management and people received their medicine safely. The prevention and control of infections were managed in line with government guidance and the provider’s procedures.
People and their relatives had confidence in the ability of staff to provide effective care. Staff development was supported through an induction when they started work. Ongoing training was provided to the staff team to ensure their skills and knowledge remained up to date to provide effective care. People had access to healthcare professionals to ensure their ongoing healthcare needs were met.
People received person centred care and had developed positive relationships with staff. Staff had a good understanding of the care and support people needed and provided this safely with care and compassion. People’s right to dignity and privacy were respected and their independence was promoted.
Care plans were developed in partnership with people to ensure they reflected people’s preferences, religious and cultural beliefs and values. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint. Feedback was welcomed and was used to drive forward improvements and learn lessons.
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.
The registered manager had processes in place to monitor and review the quality of the service provided, for example, audits of care records. The provider had a contingency plan in place, to minimise any risks to the service running safely in the event of, for example adverse weather conditions. Staff felt supported by the registered manager who worked in an open and transparent way.
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 15 March 2021) and there were two 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
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last 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 Care 4 U (Midlands) Ltd 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.