Tamar (London)

Updated 3 June 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

Tamar (London) provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service two working days' notice of the inspection because the service provides care to people in their own homes and we wanted to make sure that management were available on the day of the inspection site visit.

Inspection activity started on 27 April 2023 and ended on 15 May 2023. We visited the office location on 27 April 2023 to see the registered manager and review records related to the service.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. 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.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care plans, risk assessments and medicines records. We also looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and training. We reviewed records related to the management of the service, which included quality assurance records and a range of policies and procedures.

We spoke with four staff members. This included the registered manager, branch manager and care workers.

People who received care and support from the service were not able to speak with us due to their health needs. We attempted to speak with 2 people's relatives but were only able to speak with 1 relative.

Updated 3 June 2023

About the service

Tamar (London) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people living in their own homes. The services they provide include personal care, housework and medicines support. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to 2 people. The Care Quality Commission (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:

Recruitment practices were not always robust, and it was not always evident that staff were recruited safely.

There was not an effective system in place to check various aspects of the care provided and identify deficiencies in relation to people’s care and the running of the service.

Risk assessments were in place. However, we noted that in some instances the information recorded in these was limited and did not always include instructions for staff about how to mitigate associated risks. We have made a recommendation in relation to this.

Staff completed training to help ensure they had the necessary skills and knowledge to support people appropriately. However, an effective system was not always in place to support staff with their professional development and we have made a recommendation in respect of this.

Medicines management systems were in place.

There were systems in place to help safeguard people from the risk of possible harm.

Measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 and other infections were in place.

People and relatives told us that care workers were respectful of people’s privacy and dignity. They told us care workers were kind, helpful and considerate.

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 we spoke with told us they enjoyed working at the service and they were well supported by the management team and their colleagues.

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 the service was good (24 September 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified two breaches of regulation in relation to fit and proper persons employed and governance at this inspection. Further, we have made two recommendations in relation to risk assessments and staff support.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.