Always Caring Bromley Limited

Updated 19 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This announced inspection took place on 21 September 2018. We gave the provider two days’ notice as we needed to make sure the manager and staff would be available. The inspection team consisted of a single inspector, who visited the office and spoke with people using the service or their relatives and staff by telephone.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the provider which included statutory notifications the provider had sent the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We reviewed the information the provider sent us in their Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the commissioning authority to request feedback on their views of the service. We used these sources of information to help inform our inspection planning.

There were four people using the service at the time of our inspection. We spoke with two people or their relatives by telephone to gain their views of the service they received. We spoke with two members of staff, the registered manager and the provider. We looked at the care plans and records of three people, three staff records including training, supervision and recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service such as policies and procedures.

Updated 19 October 2018

Always Caring Bromley Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. Not everyone using Always Caring Bromley Limited receives the regulated activity; personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care support to four people.

This inspection took place on 21 September 2018. We gave the provider two days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the manager would be available. At our last inspection of the service on 27 May and 01 June 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

Risks were assessed, managed and reviewed to ensure people’s needs were safely met. Detailed guidance for staff on managing risks were correctly documented. Accidents and incidents were recorded, managed and acted on appropriately. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs when required. There were systems in place to ensure people were protected from the risk of infections. Medicines were managed and administered safely. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff knew what actions to take to protect people from possible harm.

Assessments of people’s care and support needs were conducted and documented. Staff completed an induction when they started work and received appropriate training, supervisions and appraisals. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs where appropriate and people were supported to access health and social care professionals when required.

People told us staff were caring and respectful. People were consulted about their care and were provided with information about the service in a format that met their needs. People received personalised care that met their diverse needs. Assessments allowed for people to document any end of life care needs and wishes they had, should they so wish. People knew about the provider’s complaints procedure and how to raise concerns.

There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided. The provider considered the views of people using the service and there was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured support and advice was always available. Staff worked closely with health and social care professionals to ensure people received good quality care. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and had access to on-going support and training. The registered manager attended meetings with the local commissioning authority and attended the local authorities’ provider’s forum to support shared learning and to help drive improvements.