Agee Care Limited

Updated 5 March 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of the inspection there were 14 people using the service.

The service had 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 5 days’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 8 February 2018 and ended on 13 February 2018. It included telephone calls to people and relatives to gain feedback about the service and telephone calls to staff who provided support to people. We visited the office location on 8 February 2018 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We used the information we held about the service to formulate our planning tool. This included notifications about events that had happened at the service, which the provider was required to send us by law. For example, safeguarding concerns, serious injuries and deaths that had occurred at the service.

We spoke with two people who used the service and eight relatives to gain their experiences of the service provided. We spoke with two staff and the registered manager who is also the provider.

We viewed two people’s care records to confirm what people and staff had told us. We also looked at documents that showed how the service was managed which included training and induction records for staff employed at the service and records that showed how the service was monitored by the registered manager.

Updated 5 March 2019

About the service:

Agee Care Limited is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to 14 people in their own homes.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by safely recruited staff, who had the skills and knowledge to provide effective support. Staffing levels were regularly reviewed to ensure there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Medicines were managed safely and staff followed infection control procedures.

Effective care planning and risk management was in place which guided staff to provide support that met people’s needs and in line with their preferences. People were supported to have choice and control over their lives.

People were supported by caring staff who promoted choices in a way that people understood, this meant people had control and choice over their lives. Staff provided dignified care and respected people’s privacy.

People were involved in the planning and review of their care. Staff used care plans to ensure they provided support in line with people’s wishes. This ensured people received personalised care in line with their preferences and diverse needs.

Systems were in place to monitor the service, which ensured people’s risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service. People and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to the delivery of care.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is available in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection:

Requires Improvement (report published 14 November 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At the last inspection the service was rated requires improvement overall (in the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well Led). We found the required improvements had been made and the service has met the characteristics of Good in all areas. The overall rating is Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.