Care of Excellence Limited

Updated 13 September 2019

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

Our inspection was completed by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started with a visit to the office location on 12 August 2019 and the expert by experience made telephone calls to people who used the service on the 14 August 2019.

Before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually (the Provider Information Return PIR) to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection. We checked for feedback from local authorities and commissioning bodies.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and six relatives. We spoke with three members of staff , the registered manager and two care managers. We reviewed three people's care records, audits, comments made to the service by professionals and other records about the management of the service.

After the inspection

Following our visit, the registered manager sent us further information about the service provided, and feedback they had received.

Updated 13 September 2019

About the service

Care of Excellence Limited is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people in their own homes. They were providing a service to 55 people at the time of the inspection. 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 inspection, 30 people were receiving a regulated service.

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

People received care and support by a staff team that were dedicated, enthusiastic and experienced. Staff provided people's care in a personal way. Staff helped people to express their views and people were consulted about all aspects of their care and support. The provider took account of current best practice models. This helped the service to deliver consistently good care.

People received care from a personal team of staff who were well trained and supported. Staff worked together and with other agencies to ensure people received the care and support they needed.

Staff were genuinely interested in and knew people very well. People's care plans were detailed and provided staff with comprehensive guidance on how to meet people's needs. Staff were skilled at supporting people while reducing causes that may affect people’s anxiety. Where it was part of the planned care, staff supported people to access the community, such as the shops, a stroll to the local village and cafes.

Staff were caring and considerate, which reflected the provider's values of person-centred care. Staff treated people with the greatest respect and had embedded privacy and dignity into their working practice. There was a strong recognition that people were individuals. Staff spoke passionately about providing people with person-centred care and showed real compassion for people.

The registered manager was committed to involving people, relatives, staff and other stakeholders in the development of the service. Audits and quality monitoring checks helped drive improvements in the service. We received positive feedback about the way the service was managed. Everyone said the registered manager and staff were amenable and easily reached.

The registered manager looked for ways to improve and develop the service. Staff were proud to work for the service and worked in full collaboration with external professionals.

People were supported to have 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.

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 30 July 2016).

The service remains rated as good .

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.