Archived: Genuine Carers - Cherwell

Updated 10 December 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 was conducted by one inspector and one Expert by Experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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

We gave the service 24 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.

What we did before the inspection

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. Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service. This included any information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection-

During the inspection, we spoke with two people using the service, eight people's relatives, five care staff, a manager and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included care records for three people, medicine administration records, staff training records, three staff recruitment files, staff supervision and appraisal records, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints and compliments records, and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We contacted three external professionals to gather their views about the service.

Updated 10 December 2021

About the service

Genuine Carers Cherwell is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes in the Cherwell area in North Oxfordshire. At the time of our inspection 16 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service.

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

People were not always protected from risks of unsafe recruitment as the evidence of staff checks and conduct were not sought prior to the staff working with adults at risk. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns. However, risk assessments did not always identify how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm.

There was a registered manager appointed who was supported by a deputy and the director.

The provider's quality assurance processes were not effective and had not identified some of the concerns we found during our inspection. However, the registered manager was open and transparent and recognised that some of the quality assurance system needed to be strengthened and demonstrated a commitment to continuously improve the service for the people it supported.

Staff understood the risks to people and delivered safe care in accordance with people's support plans and knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse.

Staff were knowledgeable about types and signs of abuse, and the actions they were required to take to escalate any concerns. People told us there were enough staff to keep people safe, although some concerns were raised by relatives regarding late visits.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People told us they were supported by caring and compassionate staff. Staff respected people's privacy, dignity and their individual needs. People felt the support they had met their needs. Staff knew people's needs well and were passionate about ensuring people felt valued and cared for.

People's individual communication needs were known to staff and staff were able to give us examples of how they adjusted communication methods where required.

People, their relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager; they found them approachable and supportive. There was a positive workplace culture and the team worked well in partnership with other agencies and the local social and health professionals. We received positive feedback from three professionals who praised the service's caring approach and the care provided to people.

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 02 July 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as this new service had been registered since 2020

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to recruitment procedures and the quality of safety and governance systems at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.