Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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

Some medicines administration records had not been documented correctly, and not all safeguarding incidents had been reported to the local authority or the CQC. Some staff did not comply with measures designed to reduce the risk of infections spreading, such as wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) before entering people’s homes, unless there was a specific need, such as for certain contagious infections. No person had been harmed but this put people at risk of harm.

The registered managers addressed these matters promptly, but until we highlighted these, actions had not been taken. Staff however were clear on how to safely support people with their medicines, and lessons had been learned following incidents.

Staff supported people effectively with equipment to keep them safe by using an appropriate number of suitably skilled staff at a time that matched people’s needs.

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 relative told us how they had supported staff to learn typical English meals. The registered managers had addressed food preparation concerns with pictures of what cooked foods should look like.

Staff focused on and promoted people's equality and diversity, supporting, and responding well to support people to have good quality care. A person said, “I feel safe, as staff are very good to me. I take all my [medicines] morning and night and staff watch me to make sure I haven't dropped any.” Where people had concerns about the skills staff had or lacked, the registered managers were increasing staff skills by providing additional training.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. All those we spoke with felt people were safe and had enough support to do this. Although, some people felt staff were rushed, improvements had occurred in the past 3 months with more staff being recruited.

A person was very pleased with communication from the management team and said that when they had an accident, staff were quick to respond with advice to seek healthcare support which they did. This meant the communication to staff supported good quality joined up care.

Staff put people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People were in the main, supported with their preference of care staff. People, relatives, staff, and health professionals had a say in how the service was run. Most quality monitoring systems were effective in identifying risks such as with care plans, learning lessons and implementing effective changes. In the main, the service worked well with others involved in people's care.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 10 May 2021).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns we received about staffing, safeguarding and risks to people, the culture and management of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found some evidence that people were not always safeguarded and some records were not accurate. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire.

Please see the safe and well-led section of this report. The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC 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 reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people, people living with dementia, people with physical disabilities, younger people and people with sensory impairments. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.

Not everyone using Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

Peoples experience of using this service:

People knew how to report any safeguarding concerns affecting them. Staff were knowledgeable about identifying and reporting safeguarding concerns or issues. One person said, “I need to be helped with my mobility. I need two staff and there always are two who are so careful monitoring my skin.”

Staff were safely recruited and there was a robust process to ensure there was always enough staff. Medicines were administered and managed safely by competent staff. One relative told us, “I need help to apply some of my medicines. Staff wear gloves and mark on my records when and where they have applied the [medicine].” Lessons' were learned when things went wrong and learning was shared across the staff team. Systems were in place that promoted good infection prevention and control practises.

People's needs were assessed and staff with the right skills helped to meet these. One person told us that staff knew them well but respected their choices. Another person told us how diligent staff were in preparing their drinks and meals. However, in both care plans we looked at, they lacked detail around people’s care and support. There was no impact on people. The registered manager told us they would add additional information. Staff supported people to access healthcare support to live a healthier life.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported people in a kind, dignified, compassionate and respectful manner and upheld their privacy. People's independence was promoted and respected. Staff listened to what people said and acted accordingly.

People's care was person centred and based on what was important to them. Records and processes were reviewed regularly to ensure they were current and relevant.

Concerns were resolved before they became a complaint, and actions taken were effective in preventing recurrences. Policies and procedures were in place for any person who may need end of life care. People benefitted from using technology and this helped promote safety and independence.

The registered manager led by example, demonstrated the values of the service and was aware of their responsibilities. They knew how to discharge these correctly and had further developed a positive, open and honest staff team culture. Staff praised the management team for the positive support received in helping to drive teamwork. Oversight, governance and audits were effective in driving improvements.

People fedback about the quality of their care and had a say in making improvements. The registered manager worked well with others to provide people with joined up care and support. The staff team promoted the provider’s equality and diversity policies and treated people equally well. One person needed their care needs recorded and provided in a particular way which had been acted on.

Why we inspected:

This service was registered with us on 11 April 2019. At our focused inspection in December 2020 where we looked at staffing, people's safety and the management of the service, we rated the service as good in safe and well-led. This is the first comprehensive inspection of Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire.

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

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

Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire is a domiciliary (home care) care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. Careuk247 Home Care Cambridgeshire provides a service to people living with dementia, younger adults, people with a sensory impairment and people with a physical disability.

Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care, help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection there were 25 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

Staff undertook safeguarding and medicines administration training and applied their knowledge and competence to keep people as safe as practicable.

Staff knew how to identify and report any potential safeguarding concerns. There were enough safely recruited staff with the skills to meet people’s needs at a time people preferred. One person said, “[Staff] never rush me. They take all the time I need.” Risks to people had been identified and they were managed in a safe way.

There were systems in place that promoted good infection, prevention and control standards. There were systems in place that promoted good infection, prevention and control standards. Lessons were learned when things went wrong, and mechanisms were in place to help prevent recurrence.

The registered manager had made many improvements in the relatively short time they had been in post including, developing a positive staff team culture. Staff were supported in their role in a positive way, and when required were reminded of their responsibilities.

The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities. They had effective quality assurance systems in place that helped identify and implement changes that promote good quality care.

All the people and staff we spoke with spoke positively about the service, their involvement, and that they would recommend the service to others. The registered manager and provider worked well with others to help provide joined up care.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 10 October 2018 and this is the first inspection. As this was a focused inspection, we are not able to provide a rating. This is because we have not assessed all domains and key questions.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staffing, people's safety and the management of the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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

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.