Caremark (Harrogate)

Updated 1 February 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. One inspector visited the office location. The second inspector supported by making telephone calls to staff to ask for their feedback about the service. The Expert by Experience contacted people and their relatives via telephone to seek their views on the service and care provided. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 30 December 2022 and ended on 10 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 4 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service, 4 people's relatives and 3 health and social care professionals about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the nominated individual, registered manager, care supervisor and four members of care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and medication records. We looked at four staff's files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 1 February 2023

About the service

Caremark (Harrogate) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes in and around the Harrogate area. The service was supporting 30 people at the time of our 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

Significant improvements had been made to the service since the last inspection. People told us they now received their calls at regular times and had consistency in their staff team.

Safe recruitment processes were in place and followed. New staff completed a thorough induction and all staff had received regular and appropriate training.

Improvements had been made with regards to medicine management and people told us they received their medicines as prescribed. Directions in relation to topical medicines, such as creams was not always thoroughly recorded. The registered manager took action to address this.

Staff had received safeguarding training and were aware of when to report any concerns. Accidents and incidents were recorded, and audits were in place and used to identify any themes or trends.

People told us staff were kind, caring and made them feel safe. Consent to care and support was recorded and people were encouraged and supported to make their own decisions.

Staff worked in partnership with other professionals to ensure people received the care and support they needed. Professionals reported an improvement in communication and engagement since the last inspection.

The provider had developed thorough systems and processes to monitor and improve the service. These had only been completed for the month of December and required further embedding into the service.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively of the registered manager and provider and the open, positive culture that had been created. The management team regularly engaged with people and listened and took action to address any feedback or concerns shared.

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 2 December 2021). 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 unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 11 May 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found, and we placed conditions on the providers registration. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan, complied with the conditions placed on their registration and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. 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 Caremark (Harrogate) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.