26 August 2021
During a routine inspection
Caring Forever Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 41 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Risk assessments required more individualised detail to ensure care staff were provided with information about how risks were to be mitigated. Some known risks did not have a corresponding care plan so care staff knew how to mitigate risk as far as possible.
Medicines documentation required more detail to ensure people received their medicines consistently and appropriately.
The auditing and quality assurance systems in place required improvement, as they did not ensure accurate upkeep of full records and identify areas for improvement.
There were sufficient care staff to cover visits to people. Some people told us if care staff were running late that they weren’t always advised of this.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way. However, records required improvement to ensure best interest procedures were followed where necessary and in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Care plans required more detail, to provide guidance for care staff on how to meet people’s individual needs, particularly where people were living with dementia, had health conditions, or were receiving end of life care.
People consistently spoke highly of staff and told us they were kind and caring. People and their relatives said they were treated with respect and kindness by staff who were patient and respected their dignity. Staff were recruited safely. Staff received relevant training to carry out their role.
People knew how to contact the office and raise any concerns if needed. Complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.
The service had an open and positive culture. Care staff felt supported and able to speak with the management team at any time.
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 14 May 2018).
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Caring Forever Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.
We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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.
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.