Care Direct UK

Updated 2 February 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This announced inspection took place on 14 December 2017 and 8 January 2018. The inspection team consisted of a single inspector, who visited the office on both days and an expert by experience who spoke with people using the service or their relatives by telephone. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the provider which included statutory notifications the provider had sent the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. The provider also completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider for some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the commissioning authorities to request feedback on their views of the service. We used these sources of information to help inform our inspection planning.

There were approximately 186 people using the service at the time of our inspection. We spoke with 11 people using the service and five relatives by telephone to gain their views of the service they received. We contacted four members of care staff and spoke with members of staff on site including the registered manager and deputy manager. We looked at the care plans and records of eight people using the service, four staff records including training, supervision and recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service such as policies and procedures.

Updated 2 February 2018

This inspection took place on 14 December 2017 and 8 January 2018. We gave the provider two days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the manager and staff would be available at the location. At our last inspection of the service on 15 January 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and they demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service mainly to older adults. Not everyone using Care Direct UK receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. Care Direct UK is an independent care agency providing personal care and domestic support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 186 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Medicines were managed and administered safely. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff knew what actions to take to protect people from harm. Risks were assessed, managed and reviewed regularly to ensure people’s needs were safely met. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. There were systems in place to ensure people were protected from the risk of infections.

Assessments of people’s care and support needs were conducted. Staff completed an induction when they started work and received appropriate training. Staff were aware of the importance of seeking consent and demonstrated good knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. There were arrangements in place to comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs where appropriate and people were supported to access health and social care professionals when required.

People told us staff were caring, respectful and polite. People were consulted about their care and support needs and were provided with information about the service that met their needs. People received personalised care that met their diverse needs. People knew about the provider’s complaints procedure.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. The provider took into account the views of people using the service. Staff said they received good support from the registered manager and office staff. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support and advice was always available. The service worked with external organisations to meet people's needs.