4 February 2020
During a routine inspection
CRS Doctors Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing support to people in their own homes in the community. 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. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to one person.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The systems in place to manage medicines were not safe which placed people at risk of not receiving their medicines as prescribed. Risks to people were not always assessed and managed safely. The registered manager recognised improvements were needed and was taking action to address the issues we raised.
Leadership and oversight of the service needed to improve as staff sought direction and support from colleagues and relatives, rather than the registered manager. Staff did not always receive the training and support they required to fulfil their roles. There was a lack of quality assurance systems to monitor and check service delivery and those that were in place were not always effective. The manager told us they were taking action to address these matters.
Relatives were happy with the care provided to their family member. They were involved in planning and making decisions about their care. The person’s nutritional needs were met. Staffing was well organised and the person received their calls on time and staff stayed the full length of the call. Safe systems were in place to manage any allegations of abuse and complaints.
Relatives said the staff were brilliant. The person received support from a small team of staff who knew them well and had developed a good relationship with them. Support plans were in place, although some sections needed updating. Staff treated the person with respect and maintained their privacy and dignity.
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.
Staff were recruited safely, although some documents such as photographs, job descriptions and employment contracts were not present. The registered manager was taking action to address this.
The registered manager was aware improvements to the service were needed and demonstrated their commitment to making this happen.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 27 July 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We have identified three breaches at this inspection which relate to safe care and treatment, staff training and overall management of the service.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.