Choice Care

Updated 29 November 2019

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 team consisted of 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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses.

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 a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a telephone call from an inspector or Expert by Experience. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

Inspection activity started on 30 October 2019 and ended on 31 October 2019. We visited the office location on both dates.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We also contacted Healthwatch for feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We also emailed 20 staff members to gain their feedback on the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with 14 people who used the service and two relatives; we also emailed two relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records, medication records, one person’s staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision records. We also reviewed a variety of records relation to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We contacted the registered manager to inform them we had only received a response from two staff members we had emailed. Following this we received a full response to the questionnaires sent to staff.

Updated 29 November 2019

About the service

Choice Care is a domiciliary care agency who were providing personal care to 199 people at the time of the inspection. 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

The service was well led. People were empowered to make decisions and choices and this was reflected in the feedback we received. Staff told us there was positive culture in the service which supported and promoted positive outcomes for people. One person had commented, “I think the care is really good and it has improved my life loads.” Relatives also gave us very positive feedback about the service and staff. Management and staff knew people well and often went above and beyond expectations to support people.

People told us they felt safe using the service. Staff had carried out safeguarding training and knew their responsibilities. Risk assessments were in place and reviewed to keep people safe. The registered manager had robust recruitment systems and processes in place. Staff felt there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

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. People told us staff were knowledgeable and skilled. Staff felt they had received adequate training and support to undertake their roles.

People unanimously told us staff were kind, caring and respectful. Staff maintained people’s privacy and dignity and supported them to maintain their independence. Consideration had been made to people’s needs in relation to equality and diversity.

The registered manager ensured people had person-centred care plans in place. These evidenced the person had been involved in the decision-making process. People confirmed their care and support was reviewed on a regular basis. All the people we spoke with knew how to make a complaint. The registered manager dealt with all complaints in line with policies and procedures.

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 22 June 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.