i care 2018 limited

Updated 23 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

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 who was in the process of becoming 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. The manager was also the nominated individual and the proprietor of the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. Throughout this report they will be referred to as the registered person.

Notice of inspection

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 registered person would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 6 December 2021 and ended on 14 December2021. We visited the office location on 8 December 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed other information we had received about the service, including notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. We sought feedback from the local authority, community professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We reviewed the provider’s social media sites. 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 three people who used the service, six relatives, one advocate and two lasting powers of attorney about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered person and four staff. We reviewed a range of records, including five people’s care records, medication records and daily notes. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including the provider’s policies, procedures and quality assurance audits.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at rotas, training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with five community professionals who worked in partnership with the service, supporting people living in their own homes.

Updated 23 December 2021

About the service

i care 2018 limited is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to seven people living in their own homes in Newbury and the surrounding areas. It provides a service to older adults, people living with dementia, sensory impairments, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and younger people. Not everyone who uses the service receives personal care. Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal support 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 experienced exceptionally person-centred care, which achieved outstanding outcomes, significantly enriching and improving the quality of their lives. People truly valued their relationships with their allocated staff and felt that they consistently exceeded their expectations, when providing their care and support. People were empowered to lead on the development of their care plans, ensuring they reflected all aspects of their life. Professionals praised staff for advocating robustly to ensure people’s best interests were upheld and protected. Relatives and professionals identified that maintaining important relationships and supporting people not to feel socially isolated was a strength of the service. People and relatives told us staff had an excellent understanding of people’s protected equality characteristics and how to support them. The service provided outstanding end of life care, which ensured people experienced a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death. Staff also cared for and supported the people that matter to the person who was dying with empathy and understanding.

People experienced very good continuity and consistency of care from allocated staff who made them feel safe. Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report abuse. Staff identified and assessed risks to people, which they managed safely, in accordance with people’s support plans. The registered person ensured enough suitable staff were deployed to meet people’s needs. Staff completed a thorough recruitment process, which explored their suitability to support people in their own homes. People received their medicines safely from staff, assessed to be competent to do so, in accordance with recognised guidance. People and staff consistently praised the registered person for keeping them fully informed regarding government guidance relating to infection control during the pandemic. Lessons from accidents and incidents were used to drive continuous improvements in the service.

The registered person effectively operated a system of spot checks, supervision, appraisal and staff meetings, which supported staff to deliver care based on best practice. Staff emphasised the importance of eating and drinking well and reflected best practice in how they supported people to maintain a healthy balanced diet. Staff worked effectively in partnership with healthcare professionals to make sure care and treatment met people’s changing 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.

People experienced caring relationships where staff treated them with kindness and compassion in their day-to-day care. People were supported to make decisions about their care and staff respected these choices. People were encouraged and supported by staff to maintain and develop their independence, and to take ownership and direct their own health care and support whenever possible.

The service was well organised and well managed. People, staff and professionals described the registered person as an inspiration and excellent role model. The registered person understood their responsibilities to inform people when things went wrong and the importance of conducting thorough investigations to identify lessons learnt to prevent reoccurrences. There were robust measures to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Quality assurance was embedded within the culture and running of the service, to drive continuous improvement. The registered person had developed effective partnerships to ensure people experienced the best possible outcomes.

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 27 November 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service was first registered with us.

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.