Archived: Care Cover 24/7

Updated 12 February 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 was carried out by one inspector, and an assistant inspector who made telephone calls to people and their relatives.

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 that 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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 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 in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 13 January 2020 ended on 16 January 2020. We visited the office location on 15 January 2020.

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 the information we held about the service to plan the inspection. This included checking for any statutory notifications that the provider had sent to us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of care staff, registered manager, deputy manager and a care co-ordinator.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at records of accidents and incidents, complaints and compliments and quality assurance records, A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 12 February 2020

About the service

Care Cover 24/7 is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and companionship to

people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 36 people received a service which included personal care from Care Cover 24/7. 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.

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

People were safely supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been employed through the registered manager's safe recruitment processes. Staff received training on safeguarding and knew how to identify and report any concerns. Risks had been assessed and management plans put in place. Staff administered people's medicines as prescribed.

People's needs were assessed prior to their service starting. The registered manager assessed peoples’ needs and there was a clear dedication to providing high-quality person-centred care to people, to enable people to remain living in their own homes. Staff worked with healthcare professionals to make sure health needs were met. 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.

People and relatives thought staff were kind and caring. People's privacy and dignity were promoted and maintained by staff who recognised the importance of treating people respectfully. One person told us, “I am more than happy, we have had some bad times with other companies, but they have taken a huge black cloud off our head, some staff are outstanding, but all of them are good.”

People were involved in their care and were encouraged to share their views and preferences. People had personalised care plans which were regularly reviewed. People were encouraged to be independent, offered choices and their privacy and dignity was maintained. People and relatives were happy with the staff that supported them.

People, relatives and staff all felt able to approach the registered manager and were positive about their leadership style. Quality monitoring was in place and feedback was sought and used to make improvements to the service. There was a complaints policy in place which people and relatives were aware of. A relative told us, “It is the only care agency we have had where the staff speak highly of the management team.”

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 October 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 reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.