Deep Heart Care Wiltshire

Updated 20 November 2024

Date of Assessment: 15 January to 22 January 2025. The service is a care at home service providing support to adults of all ages and people living with dementia. This is the first assessment for this service since it registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the 6 October 2023. Medicines had not been managed safely. There were gaps in recording on people’s medicines administration records (MAR) and ‘as required’ protocols lacked details. MAR did not contain all the information needed for staff to safely administer medicines. People’s care plans and risk management plans did not contain enough details for staff to know how to provide safe care. Staff had not received all the training they needed to support people and we found shortfalls in how staff had been recruited. Governance systems were not established and operating effectively to identify the shortfalls found during this assessment. Quality checks being completed were not identifying the improvement needed for all areas of this service. The provider had failed to notify CQC of events they are required to do by law. Accidents and incidents were not managed to record all actions taken. Some of the provider’s policies did not contain accurate information and procedures were not being followed by staff at all times. Staff told us they felt supported by the provider and they enjoyed their work. Staff had regular supervisions, and the provider had carried out spot checks to monitor how staff were working. Complaints received were recorded and investigated by the registered manager. We have found 4 breaches of regulations for staffing, safe care and treatment, good governance and failing to notify CQC. In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

Updated 20 November 2024

People and relatives shared mixed feedback about the service. Whilst people and relatives thought people were safe overall there were some concerns about safe care and support. People told us they had regular visits from staff who were mostly on time. However, some people’s visits were consistently late, and some people said they did not receive a telephone call to let them know staff were held up. One relative said, “Some days are good, but they are not reliable. This is a regular occurrence that the carers are late, and the carers have not turned up at all on some occasions.” People and relatives said staff were caring. Comments about the staff included, “I feel that everyone does care about me” and “I have used the service for 7 months and I could not be happier, I have 2 carers who share my care, and they are brilliant.” People and relatives shared mixed feedback about communication. Some people told us communication was good. However, some people said they had difficulties communicating with staff due to language barriers. Comments included, “The carers are supposed to shower [person], but [person] doesn’t always get a shower because the carer can’t turn it on. The carer is unable to understand [person’s] instructions” and “I have no concerns that [person] is not safe, but we both have difficulty understanding some of the carers.” People had a copy of their care plan in a folder in their homes. The folder also contained a copy of the complaints process. People and relatives knew who to contact with any concerns and told us they received a response. One relative said, “The manager is accessible when needed and tries to sort out issues as soon as [they] can.” One person told us, “I feel if I need to contact the manager, she listens and if she can she sorts out my issues.”