We carried out a review of the data available to us about Windrush Care on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Windrush Care, you can give feedback on this service.
Windrush Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. Not everyone using Windrush Care receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene, medicines and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided
There were 9 people receiving the regulated activity of ‘personal care’ from Windrush Care at the time of the inspection.
There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run
The previous comprehensive inspection was completed in April 2017 and the service was rated ‘Requires Improvement’ overall. At the inspection in April 2017 we found one breach of the regulations. The registered person was not operating effective recruitment procedures. We also found that improvements were needed to the support staff received and the effectiveness of the quality assurance processes in driving improvement.
We carried out a focussed inspection in September 2017 to check whether the service had made improvements to their recruitment practices and we found they met the requirements of this regulation. We did not change the overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ for this service following our focused inspection because we only looked at improvements relating to this breach.
At this inspection we looked at all the key questions. We found improvements had been made and sustained and the service has been rated ‘Good’ overall.
People received safe care and treatment. Staff had been trained in safeguarding and had a good understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures. The administration and management of medicines was safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff working at the service. There was a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were recruited.
Risk assessments were updated to ensure people were supported in a safe manner and risks were minimised. Where people had suffered an accident, action had been taken to ensure people were safe and plans put in place to minimise the risk of re-occurrence.
Staff had received training appropriate to their role. People were supported to access health professionals when required. They could choose what they liked to eat and drink and were supported on a regular basis to participate in meaningful activities.
People were supported in an individualised way that encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were given information about the service in ways they wanted and could understand.
People and their relatives were positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff were caring and kind and they felt safe around the staff. We observed staff supporting people in a caring and patient way. Staff knew people they supported well and could describe what they liked to do and how they liked to be supported.
The service was responsive to people’s needs. Care plans were person centred to guide staff to provide consistent, high quality care and support. Daily records were detailed and provided evidence of person centred care. Where required, people were supported to make decisions about end of life care which met their individual needs and preferences.
The service was well led. People, staff and relatives spoke positively about the registered manager. Quality assurance checks were in place and identified actions to improve the service. The registered manager sought feedback from people and their relatives to continually improve the service.
We undertook this focused inspection on 27 September 2017 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements in relation to a breach of regulation 19, fit and proper persons employed. This report only covers our findings in relation to these issues. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Windrush Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Gloucestershire. It provides a service to older people, people living with dementia and younger disabled adults. Not everyone using Windrush Care receives a regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’ for example, help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. The minimum visit time Windrush Care considered was one hour.
At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in post. There had not been a registered manager since July 2016. A manager had been appointed in the interim period but had now taken on the training manager role. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. A new manager was appointed in July 2017 and was applying to CQC to become registered.
At the last inspection, the service was rated Requires Improvement. The rating was clearly displayed at the office. The rating was also displayed on Windrush Care Ltd’s website.
At the announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 March 2017 a breach of legal requirements was found. After this comprehensive inspection, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements to recruitment checks for new members of staff and we found these improvements had been made and the provider met the requirements of the regulation.
People were supported by new staff who had been through a recruitment process which assessed their character, competency, and fitness to carry out their roles and responsibilities.
There was no registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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. A manager had been appointed and they had applied to become registered with CQC.
This is the first inspection of Windrush Care which was first registered in September 2015.
People had not been protected against the risks of employing unsuitable staff. Safe recruitment and selection procedures had not been followed. This was a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
Quality assurance systems, although in place, had not identified the shortfalls around the recruitment of staff. Staff had not been receiving individual support and for some staff their competency to carry out their roles had not been assessed by observations of their practice or spot checks. The provider had appointed a new member of staff to take responsibility for this. A medicine administration record had not been put in place for the administration of cream. This was done during the inspection.
People had been assessed to make sure their needs could be met by Windrush Care. Their wishes and preferences were taken into account when developing their care records which were individualised and promoted their independence. People’s capacity to make decisions about their care and support was considered. People had information about the service they received and had agreed to their care and support. Any hazards people faced in their homes or in the receipt of their service had been assessed and minimised. Accident and incident records were kept and analysed to make sure they would not reoccur. People’s rights were protected. Staff had a good understanding of how to recognise abuse and what to do in response.
People were supported by staff who had access to training to develop the knowledge and skills to meet their needs. They said communication was good and they spoke positively about the management team in the office. People benefited from effective emergency systems which included out of hours support for staff. People had information about how to make a complaint and were confident talking over any issues with the manager.
The nominated individual and manager worked closely with national organisations and other care at home agencies to keep up to date with best practice and changes in legislation. Their long term business plan included expanding the service at a sustainable rate. People, relatives, health care professionals and staff were complimentary about the quality of service being provided.