Westlake Carers Ltd

Westlake Carers Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. 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, Westlake Carers Ltd was providing personal care to 20 people.

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

Although people told us they received the medicines they needed, the registered manager was not monitoring or auditing medicines records. This meant they could not assure themselves that staff medicines competencies were robust and safe.

Where people were at risk of harm, either due to their health, or mobility, there was not always guidance or information in place for staff on what action they could take to try and reduce this risk.

The registered manager and staff had a very good knowledge of people, their care and their individual needs, but there was a lack of robust governance arrangements in place at the agency. This meant care records, analysis of accidents and incidents, medicines records and staff time keeping was not monitored for quality and consistency.

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 although we have made a recommendation to the registered provider to consider current guidance in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and when capacity assessment are required.

People were happy with Westlake Carers Ltd and told us the care staff were kind and caring towards them and showed them respect. They told us staff knew them well and how they liked their care and that if their needs changed, the registered manager was flexible and would reorganise their care package.

People told us they knew how to make a complaint and said they felt safe with staff. They said staff always turned up and did not feel rushed during their care call. People said they had choice in how they wished to be cared for and when staff prepared meals for them, they were happy with this aspect of their care. There was evidence staff involved external health professionals when needed.

Staff enjoyed working for the agency. They felt the training was good and they were supported by the registered manager and felt valued. Staff had been able to meet together for one staff meeting to discuss various aspects of the agency and people were given the opportunity to give their feedback, though a survey, as to their views on Westlake Carers.

The registered manager had a clear vision of where she wished to take the agency and had recognised there were shortfalls that needed to be addressed. They told us they would put a hold on taking on any new care packages until they had recruited some additional office staff and had established a robust system.

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 10 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the monitoring of medicines records, information relating to risks to people and the general oversight of the service, including record keeping at this inspection. We have also made a recommendation to the registered provider in relation to the mental capacity act and accidents and incident analysis.

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