Charlotte's Compassionate Care Services Ltd

Charlotte's Compassionate Care Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. This is the only branch of this private limited company.

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 10 older people were using the service.

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

The provider's systems for identifying, recording and planning for risks were not always robust enough and records were not always clear. In particular, the provider had not always assessed and planned for risks regarding medicines.

The systems to ensure staff were suitable and had the skills and knowledge needed to care for people were not always followed because the provider did not always make thorough checks at recruitment and had not always recorded when they checked staff competencies or skills.

The systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service were not always effectively implemented because they had not always identified where improvements were needed.

People using the service were happy with their care and support and generally felt communication with the agency was good. People and their relatives said the staff were kind, caring and reliable.

The staff felt well supported and liked working at the agency.

People were involved in planning their own care and making decisions about this.

There were systems for monitoring and learning from accidents, incidents and complaints. Although there had not been any at the time of our inspection. There were a range of policies and procedures which staff were aware of. People told us the provider had apologised when things had gone wrong and worked with them to improve the service.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered on 27 October 2021.

Why we inspected

The inspection took place based on the date the service was registered with us.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, fit and proper persons employed and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We have made a recommendation about ensuring staff training and competencies are assessed and recorded.

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.