Middleton Care Limited

Updated 15 February 2024

Middleton Care Limited is registered to provide personal care to individuals living in their own homes and they primarily offer services to older people. 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 assessment there were 40 people using the service. Date of assessment from 14 May 2024 to 16 July 2024. During this assessment we looked at 19 quality statements. We gathered information from people using the service, relatives, staff including the registered manager and from health and social care professionals involved with the service. At this assessment we found people were happy with the service and reported staff were good at their jobs. Staff were passionate about providing good care outcomes and took ownership of their practice. People found staff treated them with dignity and kindness. There were enough staff to deliver the care package. Recruitment processes were in place; however, these were not always entirely robust in line with expectations. Training records and training development plans were not up to date. People had care plans in place which considered their preferences but they were not always as detailed about managing their care needs. Risks to people and staff had been assessed with appropriate measures in place to help protect them. The registered manager did not always have oversight of processes to monitor the safety of people and staff particularly around medicines. People were supported with their medicines and staff were trained in this. However, medicines record-keeping was not in line with their policy and audits did not always identify issues, which may place people at potential risk. Whilst staff did endeavour to support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests, the policies and systems in the service did not always reflect this practice.

Updated 15 February 2024

People spoke positively about the care provided by Middleton Care Limited. People told us they felt safe and were supported to manage risks. People told us there were enough staff and they were cared for by a consistent staff team. They felt the staff had all the skills and knowledge they needed to do their jobs well. However, we found recruitment processes were not as robust as they should be and were often not done in line with best practice guidelines. Some people managed their own medicines. Those who did require support with medicines told us they were happy with this. However, we found medicines were not managed in line with the medicines policy and medication administration records (MARS) were not always completed correctly. Where people lacked capacity and required covert medications, there were no Best Interest decision-making records in place. This placed people at risk of harm. People told us that the staff were caring and felt they understood their needs and preferences. Family members told us they felt staff knew their loved ones very well and encouraged them to be independent where possible. People told us they had a care plan and were involved in the creation and reviews of them. People told us the staff asked for consent when providing them with care. However, records in relation to the Mental Capacity Act were not always robustly documented.