Caremark - Charnwood

Updated 23 March 2022

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.

The inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Caremark - Charnwood 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. Inspection activity started on 23 February 2022 and ended on 24 February 2022. We visited the location’s office on 23 February 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and three relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, the director of the franchise and five care staff. We reviewed care records for four people, including their care and medicine plans and call logs to ensure the care provided reflected their current needs. We also looked at records in relation to the management of the service including four staff recruitment records and quality assurance systems and processes.

After the inspection

We reviewed key policies and staff training date and sought further information from the provider to validate the evidence we had found.

Updated 23 March 2022

About the service

Caremark - Charnwood is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, there were 45 people using the service, many of whom required 2:1 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

People were kept safe by staff who understood how to safeguard them from abuse, and the actions they needed to take to protect people from the risk of harm. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and staff were recruited safely. There were appropriate infection control practices in place and people were supported to take their medicines safely.

Staff received training, supervision and support so they could effectively perform their roles and meet people needs. People were provided with care and support that ensured they had good nutrition and hydration and access to healthcare that maintained their health and wellbeing. 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 were kind, caring and treated people with respect and dignity. People were encouraged to remain independent where possible and were supported to be at the centre in planning and developing their care.

People and those important to them were at the centre of the assessment and care planning process. People were supported to express their wishes and preferences regarding their care. Staff knew people well and used this knowledge to provide personalised care. Some care plans required further development to ensure they reflected the personalised care provided. People and relatives were confident to raise concerns and complaints if they needed to.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the management and leadership of the service, as being open and transparent. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to ensure people received good care. People, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to feedback on their experience of the service and contribute to the improvement and development 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 and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published May 2020). At our last inspection we found the provider was in breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.