Care Remedies Ltd

Updated 29 January 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Care Remedies Limited is a domiciliary Care Agency. The agency provides care and support for people in their own homes. The Care Quality commission (CQC) regulates the care provided and this was looked at during the inspection.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that staff, people and relatives would be available to speak with us.

Inspection site visit activity took place on 19 December 2019. We spoke to the registered manager, office and care staff and reviewed care records, policies and procedures. On 20 December 2019 we visited three people in their homes.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke to seven members of staff including the registered manager, the director, the office manager and four carers. We spoke with three people and one relative. We looked at six people’s care plans and a range of documents relating to how the service was managed. These included audits, quality assurance reports, complaints, accidents and incidents and medicine administration records (MAR).

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke to three people and four relatives.

Updated 29 January 2020

About the service

Care Remedies Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The agency provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, care was being provided to 57 people. Some were living with dementia, some had physical disabilities and two had learning disabilities.

Not everyone who used the service received personal 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 told us they felt safe and this was supported by relatives and carers. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and what steps they would take if they had concerns. Risk assessments had been completed and were bespoke to individuals. Accidents and incidents were correctly reported, recorded and investigated. Staff were recruited safely, and people were supported with medication when necessary.

A robust induction process was in place which was followed up by regular training, supervision, meetings and appraisals. Staff knew people well and knew how to communicate with them. Some people were supported with food and drink and management of diabetes. Food and fluid intake records were kept where there was concern. Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people and all staff had received mental capacity training.

Staff were seen to be kind and caring towards people in their own homes. People’s differences were recognised and celebrated, and people had choice about how their care and support needs were met. People’s privacy and dignity were respected. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible with daily tasks such as washing, dressing, food and drink preparation.

Care was delivered in a person-centred way. People were supported to attend medical appointments when family/carers were not available. Staff helped people out on short trips to the seafront and to an annual pantomime at certain times of the year. At the time of the inspection no one had significant communication needs but the staff had received training in communication and aids were available to help if the need arose. A complaints policy was in place and was accessible to everyone. Few complaints had been raised and all issues had been dealt with quickly and satisfactorily. No one using the service was in receipt of end of life care but staff had received training in this area.

People, relatives and staff spoke well of the registered manager who provided clear, visible leadership and support. Although there was no formal meeting structure there were various ways that people, relatives and staff could provide feedback. Annual questionnaires were completed and then analysed by the registered manager. The service was relatively small and regular interactions took place with the management. The new computer system meant that audits could be carried out daily for medicines, accidents and incidents with a fuller monthly audit to identify trends carried out by the registered manager. The service is growing and there are ambitions to expand further. The registered manager told us that they wanted to ensure the new computer system was fully imbedded before further growth.

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, (report published 14 February 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.