Gateway Care Group Ltd

Updated 18 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Gateway Care Group Ltd 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 9 December 2022.

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 nominated individual and business development consultant.

Following the site visit, we spoke with one person’s relative, one care worker and the registered manager.

We looked at one person’s care records as well as records relating to the management of the service and the safety and quality of people's care. We also looked at records showing us how staff were recruited and trained. We reviewed quality assurance records, policies and procedures.

Updated 18 January 2023

About the service

Gateway Care Group Ltd 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. At the time of inspection, the service provided personal care to one person. 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:

Systems and processes were not always in place to support people's safety. Areas of potential risks to people were not always identified and appropriate risk assessments were not always in place. This could result in people receiving unsafe care and we found a breach of regulation in respect of this.

There was no formal training and induction system in place. We found a breach of regulation in relation this.

The person using the service was unable to speak with us due to their needs. The person's relative spoke positively about the service and the care provided to their family member. They were confident their family member was safe when in the presence of staff.

There was a recruitment system in place. However, we noted that it was not always clear who provided references for newly recruited staff. We have made a recommendation in respect of this.

There were systems in place to protect people from abuse. A safeguarding policy was in place and staff were aware of the reporting procedures to follow.

Personalised care was provided to the person from a small, consistent staff team who valued the relationships they had built with the person.

Suitable infection control practices helped to prevent and control the spread of infections including COVID-19.

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.

An assessment of the person’s needs and preferences was carried out prior to the development of care plans. These provided the information and guidance staff required to ensure the person’s individual needs were met in the way they wanted. Care plans were person centred.

The service had introduced a system to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided. However, the service had recently started providing services to people and was still in the process of implementing checks and audits which had not yet been embedded in practice. We have made a recommendation about the management of governance systems.

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 19 April 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 two breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and staff training at this inspection. We have also made two recommendations in relation to staff recruitment and governance.

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.