29 November 2023
During a routine inspection
Gill Care Services is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living with a dementia, older people or physical disability living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 14 people were in receipt of care from the service.
People’s experience of the service and what we found
Staff had undertaken safeguarding training. However, the provider had failed to inform relevant authorities of a safeguarding concern. Individual risk assessments had not always been completed. Incident and accident records had been completed but would benefit from more details. There were no concerns found in relation to staffing and recruitment.
People were somewhat 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. A capacity assessment for 1 person where it was required was not completed until after day 1 of the inspection. Staff had completed training and supervision and competency checks had been completed. Care plans included information about people’s needs and preferences. Assessments of people’s needs had been completed and relatives told us they were informed of changes in people’s healthcare conditions.
People received good care and their individual needs were met. Feedback from relatives was positive about the care staff provided. Care records contained good information to support staff in providing people’s care. People were supported with activities if this was part of their care plan. People’s alternative ways of communicating were considered. The complaints procedure in the service user guide was not always detailed, in line with the provider’s policy.
Audits and monitoring were taking place. However, the provider was not consistently providing information in line with their regulatory responsibilities, and it was sometimes difficult to engage with the provider. The registered manager sought feedback from people and staff had the opportunity to discuss their experiences at team meetings. A range of policies were in place however, the service was not consistently making use of records and guidance in them to support the operation and oversight of the service.
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 good, published on 17 October 2019. Further focused inspections were published on 21 May 2021 and 30 September 2020. No changes to the overall rating were made at these inspections.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to review ratings from the last inspections.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment and good governance.
We have also made recommendations in relation to ensuring the provider seeks nationally recognised guidance, to ensure systems are in place to assess risks and to ensure all people, where it was required were assessed in relation to their capacity to make decisions and choices. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow Up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.