UK Caring Services

UK Caring Services is a domiciliary care agency which is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. The service is registered to provide support to people, living with dementia, people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

At the time of this inspection, 93 people were using the service. 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

Managerial oversight of the service needed to be improved. Auditing systems had not identified the shortfalls we found. In addition, processes to share important information with us as required needed to be strengthened. The management of some risks associated with people’s care and support required improvement. The registered manager told us they would take action to improve safety. Despite our findings, staff explained how they provided people’s care safely and they understood what they needed to do in the event of an emergency.

The majority of care plans we reviewed lacked information. We made a recommendation about adding further information to care plans. The registered manager understood their responsibility to be open and honest when things had gone wrong. The whole staff team demonstrated their commitment to ensuring people received good quality care.

Staff completed safeguarding training and safeguarding procedures were in place to protect people. Staff had been recruited safely and nearly all people spoken with told us they felt safe with their care workers. Staff completed infection prevention and control training and they followed safe practice when they visited people’s homes. People’s medicines were administered by trained staff. Checks of medicines took place and the registered manager told us staff would receive further support and training to improve their practice if any errors occurred.

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. However, the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice. We have made a recommendation to ensure the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were always followed during care planning to uphold people’s rights.

Staff had the skills they needed to provide effective care. New staff completed an induction followed by an ongoing training programme. Managers observed staff members practice in people’s homes to ensure they put their training into practice. Staff felt valued and supported and they understood what their managers expected of them. People were supported with a balanced diet to maintain their health. The service worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people received the care and support, they needed to live healthy lives.

Staff were kind and caring, they spoke fondly about people and understood the importance of treating people as individuals. People’s dignity was maintained and their right to privacy was respected. The support people received enabled them to remain living in their own homes in line with their wishes.

People knew how to complain, and records confirmed complaints received had been managed in line with the provider’s policy. Most people spoke positively about the leadership of the service and the service had received a high number of compliments in the few months prior to our visit.

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 06 February 2019).

Why we inspected

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to the safety and governance of the service at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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

UK Caring Service Ltd is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service supported four people and employed three staff. Three people received support with personal care

This was the first inspection of the service following their registration with us in September 2017.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have a registered manager. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

People felt safe using the service and staff understood how to keep people safe from avoidable harm and abuse. There were enough staff to provide the care and support people required. People received care from staff they knew and who they considered to be kind and caring. Staff arrived around the time expected, and stayed long enough to provide the care and support people required. Staff knew people well as they visited the same people regularly.

Risks to people’s safety were identified and assessments provided guidance for staff about how to manage the risk. The provider completed recruitment checks on new staff to make sure they were safe to work with people. At the time of this inspection no one using the service required staff support to take medicines, however staff assisted people to apply prescribed creams as required.

Staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training to support people’s assessed needs. At the time of this inspection no one needed staff to support them with meals and drinks or manage their healthcare.

The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff asked for people’s consent before they provided care and respected decisions people made about their care and support.

Care plans provided guidance for staff about what they needed to do on each visit and how to support people in the way they preferred. Staff received support to carry out their roles. People knew how to complain, and information about making a complaint was available for people.

The registered manager regularly contacted people to find out their views of the service. There were processes for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service but these were not always recorded. The registered manager acknowledged they needed to review and develop their current quality assurance systems.