We carried out a review of the data available to us about Caremaid Services Hampshire on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Caremaid Services Hampshire, you can give feedback on this service.
Caremaid Services Hampshire is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. They were providing the regulated activity of personal care to 27 people on the day of the site visit.
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
People and their relatives provided positive feedback about the service. Their comments included, “The agency does really well at providing kind and helpful carers” and “The agency does really well at sending the same carers.”
The provider had effective recruitment processes, to ensure only suitable staff were recruited and all records of pre-employment checks were available. The provider had systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Potential risks to people had been assessed and processes were in place to manage them safely. The provider ensured people received their medicines safely from trained and competent staff. People were protected from the risk of acquiring an infection.
Staff treated people kindly and compassionately and respected their privacy and dignity. People were supported to be involved in making decisions about their care.
There was increased monitoring of the culture of the service to ensure all staff displayed the values and behaviours the provider expected. The provider ensured the quality of the service was monitored and action was taken to address any issues identified. Learning from incidents was shared with staff. The provider regularly sought the views of people and staff about the care provided.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 16 September 2021).
At our last inspection we recommended the provider review closed culture guidance. At this inspection we found the provider had taken action to improve the culture of the service.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 19 July 2021. A breach of legal requirements was found related to fit and proper persons employed. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to meet the regulation.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Caring and Well-led.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Caremaid Services Hampshire on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Caremaid Services Hampshire is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. They were providing the regulated activity of personal care to 21 people on the day of the site visit.
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
There was evidence one person had not received safe, dignified and compassionate care from three staff, this was being investigated under multi-agency safeguarding procedures at the time of the inspection.
People spoken with during the inspection, told us they were happy with the service they received. Their feedback included, “They [staff] are all very polite and put me first when they care for me” and “I think it is well managed and the regular checks by the manager do give me confidence.”
The provider had not operated robust and effective recruitment processes, to ensure only suitable staff were recruited and any identified risks were managed safely. They had also failed to effectively assess and mitigate risks to people’s safety from staff recruitment or to ensure all records relating to people employed were available for review.
The provider had systems, training and processes in place to protect people from abuse. When the safeguarding concerns were raised, the provider commissioned an independent investigation and co-operated with the multi-agency safeguarding process. We have made a recommendation to the provider about accessing guidance on closed cultures.
There were sufficient numbers of trained staff to provide people’s care. The provider assessed potential risks to people. Staff received training on how to manage risks to people and infection control. Processes were in place to monitor staff’s adherence to their training and guidance. People received their medicines safely from trained and competent staff.
People’s needs were assessed and their care and treatment planned in accordance with legal requirements. Staff were provided with relevant training and supervision for their role. People were supported with their eating and drinking. Staff had contacted other services about people’s healthcare and equipment 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. We have made a recommendation about how staff record people’s verbal consent to their care.
People we spoke with informed us staff treated them with kindness and dignity. They felt staff understood their needs and respected them. The provider had training and processes in place to guide staff about the standards expected and to monitor their practice. People were supported to express their views and to be involved in decisions about their care. Staff were trained to respect people’s privacy and dignity.
People were provided with information about how to make a complaint. People told us they received personalised care which met their needs. There were processes in place to provide people with end of life care where required.
The provider had person centred goals for the service and processes were in place to support the delivery of positive outcomes for people. The registered manager understood their legal responsibilities. The provider had processes in place to seek the views of people and staff about the service.
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 01 April 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by a specific incident, which was subject to a safeguarding investigation. The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about staff behaviours and how people were treated. This inspection examined those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, caring and well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
The provider has taken action to mitigate the risks identified during the inspection.
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.