A & T Caring Services

Updated 2 August 2019

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 has 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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and 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 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 inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records. These included three people’s care plans, associated monitoring records, daily notes and medicine records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We looked at training data and quality assurance records sent to us after the inspection. We spoke with three people who use the service and received feedback from five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also received feedback from six members of staff and three social care professionals.

Updated 2 August 2019

About the service

A & T Caring Services is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people receiving a service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were protected from the risks of abuse and said they felt safe with the staff providing their support and care. Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while living as independent a life as possible.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. People received effective health care and support where needed. Medicines were handled correctly and safely. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. They 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.

People were treated with care and kindness. They were consulted about their care and support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. People were treated with respect and their dignity was upheld. This was confirmed by people and their relatives who provided feedback. People's diverse needs were identified and met and their right to confidentiality was protected.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. Staff worked well together for the benefit of people and were focused on the needs of the people using the service.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. People benefitted from a service which had an open and inclusive culture and encouraged suggestions and ideas for improvement from people who use the service, their relatives and staff.

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 (report published 11 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.