Blue Crystal Care Agency

Blue Crystal Care Agency is a small domiciliary care service, which provides care in people’s homes. The service provided personal care support to two people and had three care workers employed. At the time of our visit the provider also acted in the role of the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection on 3 December 2015, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The provider had appropriate systems to record safeguarding concerns, incidents and accidents and appropriate actions were taken when required. Risk management plans were in place and had been reviewed to ensure risk to people who used the service was minimised. The provider followed safe recruitment practices and care workers had been checked appropriately prior to working with people who used the service. Staff had received training in the safe administration of medicines and people were supported when required in taking their medicines.

Care workers had been appropriately trained and supported. They had skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did support them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service did support this practice. All people who used the service had capacity to make their own decisions. Where required people were supported to have a nutritious food and fluid intake.

People told us care workers were caring towards them. Care workers we spoke with understood the importance of high standards of care to give people meaningful lives. People told us the staff who visited them treated them with respect and dignity.

Care was planned effectively and people, their relative and their designated care worker were involved in this process. People who used the service and their relatives knew how to raise a concern or to make a complaint. The service had not received any complaints since our last inspection.

The service used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular spot checks by the registered manager, weekly phone calls carried out by the registered manager, regular care plan reviews as well as visits by the registered manager to provide personal care if regular care workers were on holiday. Where people had raised concerns about their visits these had been listened to and addressed appropriately. The registered manager and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and were committed to providing a good standard of care and support to people in their care.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This was the first inspection since registering the agency with Care Quality Commission on 21 November 2014.

Blue Crystal Care Agency is a small domiciliary care service, which provides care in people’s homes. During the day of our inspection the service provided personal care support to three people and had two care workers employed. At the time of our inspection the provider also acted in the role of the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Policies, procedures and information available in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) ensured that people who could not make decisions for themselves were protected. Care workers demonstrated a good understanding of how to obtain consent for care from people who used the service.

People’s health care needs were assessed, and care planned and delivered in a consistent way. Risks associated with people’s care needs were assessed and updated when needs had changed.

Care plans were tailored to people’s unique and individual needs.

Care workers were provided with mandatory training, for example safeguarding adults, manual handling, food safety and medicines awareness. One care worker had already achieved health and social care qualifications.

People who used the service told us that staff respected their privacy and dignity and worked in ways that demonstrated this.

People who used the service said, and care records confirmed that people’s preferences had been recorded and that staff worked well to ensure these preferences were met.

People told us they were able to complain and felt confident to do so if needed.

People who used the service, relatives and care workers told us that they provided their views about the quality of the service to the registered manager and were confident that actions would be taken to address suggestions for improvements.