Optimist Care Ltd

Updated 27 January 2023

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 was carried out by 1 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

The 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 the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection. This was 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 03 January 2023 and ended on 06 January 2023. We visited the office on 4 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with the person who used the service and their relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 1 member of staff, and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included care records and plans. We looked at 1 staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 27 January 2023

About the service

Optimist Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people who live in their own houses and flats. At the time of our inspection, 1 person used the service, this person received personal care.

Not everyone who uses domiciliary care services receives 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

Effective processes were not in place to ensure the safe recruitment of staff. We found gaps in staff recruitment folders. We were unable to assess if staff employed at Optimist Care had completed a robust induction as no records were available on staff files. We have made a recommendation about staff inductions.

Improvements were required in relation to some aspects of medicines management. Audits and quality assurance were in place but needed some improvement to ensure the service continually improved and provided positive outcomes for people. The provider had not considered any end of life care wishes the person may have.

The person and their relative spoke positively about the care provided. The service had a small staff team who worked closely together and knew the person well. Staff told us they had enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and had received training in how to use it.

The provider had arrangements in place for health professionals to work together to support the person's needs.

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 October 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not been rated.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 have identified a breach in relation to recruitment practices and quality assurance.

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