Devoted Homecare

Updated 8 July 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection 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.

Inspection activity started on 13 June 2022 and ended on 16 June 2022. We visited the location’s office on 13 June 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and gained feedback from four people’s relatives. We spoke with seven members of staff including the nominated individual who is also the registered manager, the operations lead, the customer support officer, team leaders and care workers. We spoke with two health and social care professionals who had regular contact with the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and logs were reviewed.

Updated 8 July 2022

About the service

Devoted Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own homes, some of whom were living with conditions such as general frailty and dementia. 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. At the time of our inspection, staff supported 40 people with personal care.

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

People told us they were safe and felt comfortable to approach staff members or the management team if they had concerns. A relative told us, “Staff are well trained, I have no worries.” Staff received safeguarding training and demonstrated their knowledge on preventing and reporting of abuse. People received their medicines safely by staff who were trained and competent to assist them. Staff followed good infection control practices to help protect people from the COVID-19 pandemic which included regular testing and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment. Risks to people and any associated health conditions were assessed and managed, care plans guided staff to support people in a safe way.

People were supported by consistent staff who were trained to meet their needs. Staff completed an induction period which included working with experienced staff until they were assessed as competent to work alone. One person told us, “They all know us very well, they are very caring. I feel they have the best training; they are the best carers we have had.” People were supported to access healthcare services and staff worked closely with professionals to provide good outcomes for people. One healthcare professional told us, “We have had a lot of dealings with Devoted Homecare, in a positive way. They have been fantastic, they are really responsive, they are straight on it.”

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 were seen to be involved in the planning and reviews of their care. One relative told us, “They have discussed the care plan to check [person] was happy with it.”

People were supported by kind and compassionate staff who upheld their dignity and independence. Staff supported people to remain in control of their lives. One person told us, “They protect my dignity, I've never worried about them seeing my body.” People and their relatives spoke highly of the care they received. Comments included, “They make us feel like we matter. If there are any little gripes, the carers are very good.” And, “It’s a job you need to have the heart to do, kindness is second nature to them.”

The registered manager sought feedback from people, their relatives and staff. The management team visited people and made calls in a regular basis to check people were happy with the service. People and their relatives spoke positively regarding the running of the service. Comments included, “I get asked my opinion and feedback, to be honest it's all been positive.” And, “We are more than happy, if we were not, we would complain. We would call the office if there was anything and I am sure they would swiftly deal with any problems.”

People’s experience of care was consistently monitored through the provider’s quality assurance systems to ensure a good service. The management team carried out audits to make sure they were working in accordance to legislation and used opportunities to learn and improve the service. The registered manager and their team was committed to providing a high quality service to the people they cared for.

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 17 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This is the first inspection for this newly registered service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.