Custom Care - Wolverhampton

Custom Care - Wolverhampton is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to older adults, younger disabled adults, and children who are living in their own homes. 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 supported by care staff who were trained and understood how to reduce the risk of infection. People told us staff wore personal protective equipment (PPE) when entering people’s homes and during personal care tasks. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in relation to infection control and hygiene. People were provided with information and guidance around infection control, including managing risks associated with Covid-19. The service had infection control policies and procedures in place including current relevant national guidance. The service understood how to respond to infection risks and worked alongside external agencies and professionals in the management of these risks.

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 13 November 2018).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to follow up on specific concerns which we had received about the service. We received information raising concerns about the care staff and service’s infection control practices, including those associated with Covid-19. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains Good.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at an increased risk of infection from these concerns.

Please see the safe section of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the all reports’ link for Custom Care – Wolverhampton on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.

Custom Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, and children who live in their own homes. Not everyone who uses the service received a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; support with tasks related to eating and drinking and personal hygiene. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. The service currently supports 458 people in the community receiving a regulated activity.

At the time of our inspection a registered manager was 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.

People told us they felt safe with the support they received from staff. Staff understood how to protect people from harm however, care records were not always up to date and reflective of people’s needs. Risks to people were known by staff. Although there were sufficient numbers of staff; not all people were receiving care at their preferred times and by consistent members of staff. People received support to take their prescribed medicines safely. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to hygiene and infection control.

People received care from staff who had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. Staff gained people’s consent before providing care and supported people to make day to day choices. Staff supported people to meet their nutritional needs and assisted them to access health care professionals when required.

People received support from staff that were kind and caring. People's privacy was respected, and their dignity and independence promoted. People did not always receive care that was responsive to their needs. People knew how to raise any concerns or complaints and felt happy to approach staff. The provider had a system in place to handle and respond to complaints.

The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities. Staff felt supported by the management team and were confident that they could approach the registered manager or provider and would be listened to. People and staff were encouraged to give feedback, and their views were analysed to improve the service delivered. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and teams, and there were systems in place to drive improvements.