Get Care

Updated 2 June 2021

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 on the first two days of the site visit was carried out by one inspector and on the third day it was two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. 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/registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 19 April 2021 and ended on 5 May 2021. We visited the office location on the 19 and 21 April and the 5 May 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We received feedback via email from one staff member.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and one person’s medication records. We looked at one staff member’s file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and viewed a sample of the registered manager’s training certificates. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 2 June 2021

About the service

Get Care is a service registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service supports a range of people including people living with mental health needs and physical disabilities living in and around the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire area. On the day of our inspection they were supporting three people with the regulated activity of personal care.

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

The registered manager (who was also the provider) had developed some quality assurance systems, however further improvement was needed. Audits did not always demonstrate action taken where shortfalls had been identified. Detailed guidance was not in place to show how risks had been assessed and reviewed to mitigate those risks. Some information in policies and procedures was either inaccurate or missing, giving staff and those reading these documents incorrect information.

Feedback from people and social care professionals indicated the provider worked well with all concerned. However, there was no written evidence of the communication the registered manager had with others to ensure there was an audit trail. The care people received was good and the registered manager was receptive to the inspection, however there was a lack of insight into what would be expected of them during the inspection process. For example, producing records and policies requested of them in a timely way.

Although we found some shortfalls, people and their relatives were complimentary about the registered manager and the staff member who supported them. They confirmed communication was good and they received consistent caring support. Professionals also provided positive feedback about the service and they were happy with the care people received.

The registered manager worked directly with people using the service developing relationships and reviewing the care people received. 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.

There were procedures in place that guided staff on how to escalate any safeguarding concerns. People and their relatives had not been given the complaints policy and procedure until the inspection process started. However, they all told us they knew they could contact the registered manager if they had a concern.

Where people received support with taking their medicines, this had been carried out in line with good practice guidance. Staff had training and followed good practice guidance around infection control. People told us staff wore protective personal equipment.

There was one new staff member who had received an induction and was accessing training to enable them to perform well in their roles. People were encouraged to meet their nutritional and health care needs. The provider worked with external professionals to ensure, when needed, people had access to health and social care services.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 November 2017 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service started supporting people with personal care in January 2021.

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.