Compare Care Limited

Updated 6 July 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we do not always physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and one 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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 able to support the inspection.

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

This performance review and assessment was carried out with a visit to the location’s office. To engage with people, relatives using the service and staff we telephoned them, and used electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. Due to technology issues we visited the office and met with the registered manager to check and review evidence on 31 May 2022.

We spoke with four people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager. We reviewed three people's care and risk assessment records. We reviewed staff training documentation. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 6 July 2022

About the service

Compare Care provides personal care for people in their own homes, most of whom were older people with associated health needs. 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 this inspection the service was providing personal care to nine people.

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

Since the last inspection the registered manager and the staff have made improvements which has raised the standard of care people received and the overall governance of the service. The registered manager was reviewing and updating care plans, to ensure they accurately described people’s history, their background, aspirations, goals, likes and dislikes. This is an ongoing area of required improvement.

Since the last inspection, the registered manager had improved their systems to monitor the quality of the services provided. This included conducting weekly and monthly audits checking care plans, monitoring records, medication records and people’s visits. These improvements were yet to be fully embedded and sustained.

People and relatives told us their experience of the service had improved and were positive about their support visits. People and relatives had confidence in the reliability of the service and spoke highly of the care. A relative said, “I have to say that there has been a definite improvement, my relative has a new carer who is lovely. I have sent a letter to the company complimenting this member of staff.”

People felt safe using the service and staff understood what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe. People had risks associated with their health and wellbeing, assessed and managed to ensure they received personal care and support safely. A person said, “I feel safe with the care I am getting.”

Staff administered people's medicines safely and prevented people from the risk of cross infection. The service worked in partnership with people, relatives and other agencies to support people's good health and wellbeing and provide consistent care.

People 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.

Staff were trained and their competency was checked by the registered manager following an induction into the role to ensure staff had the skills to do their job well and effectively meet people's needs.

Staff received supervision to support them in their role and identify any learning needs and opportunities for professional development. The registered manager carried out spot checks on staff to monitor the quality of the service provided and to seek the views of the people who were supported.

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 inadequate (published 06 January 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. 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.

This service has been in Special Measures since 6 January 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

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