Archived: Care UK Specialist Care at Home

Updated 22 January 2020

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team was made up of an 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 homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 September 2019 and ended on 10 October 2019. We visited the office location on 18 and 27 September and 10 October 2019.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met two people who used the service and spoke on the telephone with two relatives of people who use the service, to discuss their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three care workers, two office-based staff and the registered manager. We viewed four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including two staff files.

Updated 22 January 2020

About the service

Care UK Specialist Care at Home is a service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It specialises in the care of people who live with dementia. Not everyone who uses the service receives 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.

The service was providing personal care to 90 people at the time of the inspection, most of whom were living with dementia.

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

People and relatives said they or their loved one felt safe with staff. There were enough safely recruited staff, including agency staff, to provide the care people needed. Staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were assessed and managed. Staff supported people safely with medicines.

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.

A holistic assessment of people’s needs formed the basis of their bespoke care plans. People were confident in the abilities of their staff. Staff felt well supported through training and supervision. People were supported to manage their health needs. Staff referred promptly to the appropriate professionals where there were concerns about a person’s wellbeing.

People and relatives praised of the manner of care staff, who treated them with dignity and respect. Wherever possible, people had a small team of staff for continuity. Staff promoted people’s independence and supported them to have their views heard.

People and their relatives were happy with their care. They knew how to raise complaints or concerns and felt comfortable to do so. The service had received compliments about the way care had helped people’s lives improve. Complaints were investigated and acted upon.

There was good communication. Staff were enthusiastic about their roles and shared the service’s ethos of person-centredness. Things that went wrong were treated transparently and as a learning opportunity. Quality assurance processes included regular audits and spot checks. Appropriate action was taken if shortcomings were found.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.