Reliance Care Solutions Limited

Updated 11 March 2020

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

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager was also the nominated individual. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because they provide care and support to people in their own homes. We needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection including the information the provider sent us in their Provider Information Return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We looked to see if statutory notifications had been sent by the provider. A statutory notification contains information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. The provider had also submitted an action plan following their last inspection (report published 10 December 2018). We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with seven members of staff including the quality compliance manager, care manager, and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed. This included audits, complaints, people’s feedback and policies and procedures.

Updated 11 March 2020

About the service

Reliance Care Solutions Limited is registered to provide personal care to people within their own homes. On the day of the inspection 10 people were being supported with personal care by the service.

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

The service was not always safe, systems and processes to maintain safety were not robust and risk assessments had not been completed for identified risks. Administration of medicines were not consistently recorded. Staffing levels were sufficient and staff were allocated to people to meet their requirements.

People’s needs were assessed though this was not reflected in care plans. Staff received training but had not completed the Care Certificate. People were supported with food preparation and a healthy diet where required. Staff work with external professionals in relation to people’s care needs.

Staff were caring towards the people they supported and met their needs. Staff promoted people’s dignity and independence when providing support to them. People were supported to express their views and make decisions about their care through contact with staff. People received care that met their needs although records did not always reflect this good practice.

People were supported by staff that spoke their language and could communicate effectively with them. People were not always involved in care planning processes as far as possible. Care plans did not always reflect people’s expressed needs and preferences. Staff responded to people’s needs were responded to including end of life care

Quality assurance and audit systems were not robust, they did not ensure risk assessments were in place or that care plans were accurate and up to date with the needs of people receiving the service.

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

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 last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 10 December 2018) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection sufficient improvement had not been made and the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the ‘Safe’ ‘Effective’, ‘Responsive’ and ‘Well-Led’ sections of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance of the service at this inspection.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.