22 August 2017
During a routine inspection
Caring 4 U is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service serves the local community around Braintree. They provide a service for adults, who are predominantly older and who may be living with dementia or adults who have a physical or learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 50 people using the service.
There was 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. The registered manager had appointed a general manager to assist them in the daily running of the service.
The manager had addressed concerns we had raised at our last inspection regarding the management of risk. The risk assessment process had been improved so that staff now had better quality information to enable them to support people safely. There was a pro-active approach to safeguarding and staff worked well with professionals to minimise risk.
Staff were safely recruited and well deployed so that they had enough time to meet people’s needs. There were electronic systems in place to record the administration of medicine which were well understood by staff and managers and provided accurate, current information of the support being provided with medicines.
Staff were well supported in their role. There were effective and innovative measures in place to develop staff skills, such as access to high quality clinical information, which enabled them to meet a complex range of needs.
There was a good understanding of people’s capacity to make decisions. The service met its responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and ensured decisions were made in people’s best interests.
There was a good awareness about people’s abilities, needs and preferences when supporting them to eat and drink. Staff worked extremely well with other professionals to meet people’s needs which enabled people with complex needs to be supported to continue living in the community.
The manager enabled staff to develop caring relationships with the people and families they supported by ensuring consistent rotas and enough time to meet people’s needs in a relaxed manner. Staff knew how to communicate with people and what their preferences were. Privacy and confidentiality was promoted in the office and out in the community.
Support was flexible and tailored creatively around people’s needs. The service had been designed so that people’s needs were central to the way staff were deployed. Care plans were detailed and person-centred and equipped staff with the necessary information to meet people’s needs. There were improved systems to ensure people’s care was reviewed as required. There was a pro-active approach to resolving people’s concerns.
The manager delegated well and ensured the service was run efficiently. Office and care staff understood their roles and functioned well as a team. There was a commitment to innovation and best practice, especially in the use of online technology and the development of clinical skills. There were effective systems in place to support staff and to monitor the quality of the support people received.