Belet & Care Limited

Updated 1 March 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Belet & Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service two working days' notice of the inspection because the service provides care to people in their own homes and we wanted to make sure that management were available on the day of the inspection site visit.

We visited the office location on 6 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

During the site visit we met and spoke with the registered manager and care coordinator.

We viewed a range of records. We looked at care records for 4 people. We also looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment, training and support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures were reviewed.

We spoke with 1 person who received care and 2 people’s relatives. We also spoke with 2 care workers.

Updated 1 March 2023

About the service

Belet & Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people of different abilities. The services they provide include personal care, medicines support, housework and companionship. At the time of inspection, the service provided personal care to five people. The Care Quality Commission (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:

Areas of potential risks to people were not always identified and some risk assessments were not in place and some lacked detail. This could result in people receiving unsafe care. Improvements were needed in relation to risk assessments and we found a breach of regulation.

Recruitment checks were carried out prior to care workers being employed by the service. However, there were instances where referee details were limited and there was a lack of evidence to confirm that character references had been verified to check their credibility and authenticity. We have made a recommendation in respect of this.

The service had introduced a system in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided to people. However, they had failed to identify deficiencies we found in relation to risk assessments and staff employment checks. We have therefore made a recommendation in relation to their quality monitoring systems.

People were protected from abuse. Staff had completed training on how to safeguard people. They were confident that if they raised any concerns with the registered manager, appropriate action would be taken.

Staff followed infection prevention and control guidance to minimise risks related to the spread of infection.

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.

Feedback obtained was positive and indicated that care workers were caring, kind and respectful. People’s privacy, dignity and independence were respected and promoted.

Feedback demonstrated that people and relatives were happy with the care provided. People liked their regular care workers and had developed positive relationships with them.

People had an initial assessment prior to them receiving a service. This captured their needs, abilities and preferences.

Care plans included information about people's interests and important things in their life. Information documented was specific to each person.

Staff told us they were well supported by the registered manager. They were confident that the registered manager would listen and address any concerns if they raised them.

The registered manager was receptive to the feedback we provided and said that they would use this to drive improvements to the service.

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

The service was registered with us on 3 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection to review the key questions, Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led and rate this service.

The inspection was prompted because the service has not had an inspection and a rating since it was first registered with us.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified one breach in relation to safe care and treatment during this inspection. We have also made recommendations in relation to staff recruitment and governance.

We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

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.