Culture Care Agency Limited

Culture Care Agency Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to younger disabled adults and older people, some living with dementia. 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 the inspection the provider was supporting 17 people in the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest, with 10 people receiving personal care.

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

People and their relatives were positive about the kind and caring support they received from their care workers, including the helpful attitude of the management team. A comment in one person’s review stated, ‘We are very happy with the service and the way our [family member] is looked after.’

People received person-centred care and records had detailed information for care workers to follow. People’s cultural needs were met and staff had a good understanding of how people liked to be supported.

People were supported by staff who knew them well, had a good understanding of their needs and knew how to keep them safe. Feedback confirmed replacement and cover care staff were experienced and understood people’s needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and their relatives were confident with the management of the service and felt comfortable approaching them, knowing they would be listened to regarding their care and support.

People were supported by a staff team who felt fully supported in their role and praised the management of the service. Staff were confident any necessary action would be taken if they raised any issues and were motivated to provide the best care possible.

A health and social care professional told us they wished they could use the service more, but appreciated the provider did not take on new referrals if they felt they would not be able to fully meet people’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

The last rating for this service was Good (published 4 August 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. During this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service remained good because the appropriate care was carried out by staff and the management team who had the skills and knowledge to ensure people received safe care.

Staff had received sufficient training and were supported with their ongoing learning and development needs. Pre-employment checks were completed to assess the suitability of the staff employed and they understood the actions they should take to protect people from abuse.

Healthcare services were accessed by people and their medicines were managed safely. They were supported with the food they required and helped by kind and caring staff that respected their wishes. Personalised care was provided to people that suited their lifestyle and their cultural and spiritual needs. People's consent was sought before care was carried out and their decisions about this were adhered to. Call times were monitored to check that staff arrived and left their care visits so that people were safely supported with their care at the right time.

People felt they could approach the management team when they had concerns and were confident in their ability to resolve these. The provider sent people information to keep them informed of matters in relation to their safety and welfare, and regular feedback was sought from people to seek their views about the care they received. Checks were carried out in people’s homes to make certain staff were following the correct procedures and ensure the delivery of good standards of care.

Our inspection team was made up of one inspector. As part of this inspection we spoke with two people who used the service, the registered manager and two care staff. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the home which included four care plans and three staff files.

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what people using the service, their relatives and the staff told us and the records we looked at.

Is the service safe?

There were detailed care and support plans for each person who used the service. Care plans had been reviewed. There was a phone number for emergencies out of hours and a plan in place in case of adverse weather. Staff had not had formal emergency first aid training.

Is the service effective?

The service undertook assessments with the person who used the service or a relative to identify their support needs. There were effective recruitment processes in place and evidence staff had identity and character checks.

Is the service caring?

People who used the service or a relative had been involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff supported people and advised them, but allowed the person who used the service to make the final decision. Staff told us, "We always ask [people who used the service] what they want." A person who used the service told us, 'They are brilliant, they are lovely to me.'

Is the service responsive?

The service liaised with other health professionals to meet the needs of people who used the service. People's individual needs had been assessed and staff were aware of their needs.

Is the service well-led?

The service was using the skills and knowledge of staff members to provide the required service to meet people's needs. Staff meetings were being held regularly and the staff we spoke with confirmed they felt able to make suggestions and voice concerns.

There were processes to monitor and improve the quality of service delivery and the people who used the service had been provided with information about how to make a complaint.

People told us that they were consulted about how their care was provided. We saw that people's care needs were assessed and recorded in their care plans. Risk assessments had been carried out and information was updated as required.

Staff training and procedures were in place to make sure that any medication needs could be safely met, although none of the people using the service at the time of this inspection needed any support from Culture Care Agency to take medication.

We found there were enough staff to meet the needs of people using the agency. People told us they were contacted regularly by the management team and they received care consistently from one or two care workers.

We found that there was an effective complaints procedure in place. People told us they knew how to make a complaint and were confident any complaints would be properly dealt with.