Caronne Care Ltd

Updated 8 July 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspectors and two Experts 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 and specialist housing. This service also provides care and support to people living in two ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on the first day of our inspection when we inspected one supported living service site on 25 May 2021. We announced the second day of the inspection when we inspected the provider’s office where the domiciliary care service is registered on 27 May 2021. Inspection activity started on 21 May 2021 and ended on 04 June 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who might work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection

During the inspection

We spoke with twelve people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three staff including the registered manager, one deputy manager and one care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included eleven people’s care records. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. This included speaking to five care staff. We looked at further evidence sent to us by the provider with regard to policies, training and updated documents.

Updated 8 July 2021

About the service

Caronne Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service and supported living service that provides personal care to people in their own homes and flats. At the time of the inspection the service was providing care to 130 people in East London. Only one person was living in their supported living service.

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

There were systems in place to safeguard people from abuse with concerns being reported and investigated. However, we have made a recommendation to seek best practice with regards to incident investigation. Risks to people were assessed and mitigated. Staff recruitment processes were robust and there were enough staff working at the service to support people safely. Some people told us staff were not always on time, but the provider had responded to timekeeping issues by adopting a new electronic system for improved call distribution and monitoring. Medicines were managed safely, though we initially had concerns with the supported living service. However, this element of the service was new, and the registered manager made changes quickly once issues were identified. There were infection control measures in place and lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

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. Staff sought people’s consent when providing care, however, we have made a recommendation the service follow best practice guidance on the Mental Capacity Act and consent as some language used in documents was incorrect and there were unnecessary signatures of people consenting to care which wasn’t their own. People’s needs were assessed before they began using the service. Staff received induction, training and supervision. People were supported with food and drink. Staff at the service communicated well with each other and people were supported with their health care needs.

People spoke highly about the management of the service. Managers and staff were clear about their roles. The provider knew they had a duty of care to people and their associated regulatory requirements. There were quality assurance processes were in place. People and staff were able to engage with the service. The service worked with other professionals to benefit people using the service and their care.

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 10 January 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns about staff knowledge and effectiveness with medicine management. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained the same; good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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.