Background to this inspection
Updated
3 April 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 was carried out by 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we received about the service in the time since our last inspection.
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 three staff and the registered manager to help us understand how the service was run and what it was like working there.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records, four staff files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including medicines administration records and quality assurance information.
After the inspection
We spoke with one person and two relatives about their experience of the support provided by staff. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training and supervision information.
Updated
3 April 2020
About the service
Caring Lane Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to nine people. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvement was required to ensure staff consistently received up to date training in areas relevant to their roles.
Risks to people had been assessed and staff had guidance to follow to help manage identified risks safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse, because staff received safeguarding training and knew the action to take to protect people if they suspected abuse had occurred. The service had enough staff available to meet people’s needs. The provider followed safe recruitment practices. People’s medicines were safely managed. Staff worked in ways which protected people from the risk of infection.
People received an assessment before they started using the service, to help ensure their needs could be met. Staff were supported in their roles through regular supervision. People had access to range of healthcare services when needed and staff were available to support them to attend appointments if needed. They were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Staff treated people kindly. They respected people’s privacy and treated them with dignity.
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. People were involved in the planning of their care. Staff involved them in decisions and they were supported in line with their preferences. The provider had a complaints procedure in place which gave guidance to people on how to raise a complaint. People knew how to complain and expressed confidence that any issues they raised would be addressed.
The registered manager understood the responsibilities of their role. Staff and people spoke positively about the registered manager and the working culture of the service. People’s views were sought through the use of questionnaires and regular quality checks and their feedback showed they were happy with the support they received. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.
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 18 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.