Gozone Care Ltd

Updated 1 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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period 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.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed the last inspection report and information we had received about the service since the 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 26 people and 15 relatives by telephone to find out about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine care workers by telephone and received email feedback from four others. We spoke with a representative of another home care agency who shared some packages of care with this provider.

We visited the office and spoke with the registered manager, representative of the provider and office coordinator. We reviewed a range of records. These included six care records, six staff files and records relating to the management of the service. We visited two people in their homes and met with one relative and a community nurse. We met three care workers during these home visits and observed how they supported people. We looked at the care records and daily notes completed by care staff in the home.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at training records, a further care plan and additional information requested and sent by the registered manager. We also received email feedback from a social worker in relation to their experiences supporting a person who used the services of this agency.

Updated 1 April 2020

About the service

Gozone Care Ltd is a is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care for people living in their own homes. The agency supports people with a variety of needs, including dementia, mental health and sensory impairment. At the time of this inspection, 86 people were receiving personal care support from the service.

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

People expressed frustrations over inconsistency in call times and staff continuity which was a particular issue at weekends and in the evening, however they spoke positively about the service received. The registered manager was well aware of these concerns and had taken steps to restrict new packages of care and to recruit new care workers.

People received their medicines safely but records of administration were not always complete. The registered manager had identified this issue and was introducing new audits of medicine records to be carried out by care-coordinators.

The registered manager had not notified the Commission of significant events involving people who used the service. This is a requirement of the registration regulations.

These were areas requiring improvement.

Care staff were well informed about risks to people's health or wellbeing and knew how to deliver their care safely. People were protected from the risk of infection. Everyone we spoke with felt safe in the company of staff.

Care was personalised to meet people's needs. Care plans provided detailed information and guidance for staff on people's care and support needs, likes and dislikes, and the way they wanted to receive personal care.

People spoke positively about the staff who supported them and had confidence in their skills and

experience. A relative told us, “We've found all of the Gozone carers to be very helpful and friendly.” Staff had regular supervisions and an annual appraisal.

Staff supported people to access a range of healthcare professionals and support. Staff collaborated with other professionals to ensure people’s needs were met.

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.

We observed positive and caring relationships between people and staff. People were encouraged to be involved in decisions relating to their care and were treated with dignity and respect. One person told us, “I’m very happy with the carers, they are very good and would do anything for you.”

People's communication needs were identified and planned for. People expressed confidence they could raise any issues or concerns with the office and these would be addressed.

People were encouraged in their involvement and development of the service and their feedback was valued. Quality assurance systems were in place to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement.

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 7 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.