Archived: Care Fully Limited Also known as Flexicare Home Services North London

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our findings during the inspection, discussions with people who used the service and their relatives. We also spent time looking at records. If you wish to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

We found that care was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare.

There were effective recruitment and selection procedures in place which meant that people received their care from staff who were suitably qualified, skilled and experienced.

Is the service effective?

People told us that they were happy with the care that they received and that their needs had been met. One person said, 'They seem to be very competent'.

It was clear from records and from speaking with people who used the service that the staff team had a good understanding of people's care and support needs and that they knew them well.

Is the service caring?

People who used the service told us that staff treated them with respect and courtesy.

A representative of a person who used the service said, 'One of the carers is absolutely fantastic, [the person who uses the service] absolutely adores her, she is a caring carer. She is as honest as the day is long.'

Is the service responsive?

Records confirmed that people's preferences, interests and diverse needs had been recorded and that care and support had been provided in accordance with people's wishes.

Is the service well led?

We found that there were monitoring systems in place to ensure that people's needs were consistently to their satisfaction.

People told us that they knew how to make a complaint and would be confident that their concerns would be taken seriously.

We found that people were not protected against the risks associated with medicines. This was because the provider did not have appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

During our inspection we found there were not effective recruitment and selection practices were not in place. This meant that people were at risk of receiving care from staff who were not suitably qualified, skilled and experienced.

Although the manager sought feedback from people about the service and people told us he had listened to them and made changes to the service when they requested it, there were no quality assurance systems in place to effectively assess, and monitor the service provision.

During our inspection on we found there were not effective recruitment and selection practices in place. This meant that people were at risk of receiving care from staff who were not suitably qualified, skilled and experienced.

Although the provider sought feedback from people about the service and people told us he had listened to them and made changes to the service when they requested it, there were no quality assurance systems in place to effectively assess, and monitor the service provision.

One relative said,'We were absolutely delighted with the agency, they turned our lives around. I cannot stress enough how highly I think of them. Staff really connected with my family member and wanted to understand them and my family member responded well.' They told us that the assessment of their family member's needs was undertaken in the home and was thorough so that the agency could be sure they could meet the needs before providing the care.

People also confirmed that staff were flexible and always asked if there were any other tasks which needed to be done before they left. A staff member told us, 'Sometimes people are too shy to ask but if you ask them they might say, 'Oh could you please change my bed.'

A person who used the service told us that they felt safe with staff and that their possessions were safe. A relative told us that they felt that their family member was in safe hands. They said that communication with the agency had been good. They said, 'They are just at the end of a phone.'