We carried out a review of the data available to us about AZ Caring Services Ltd on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about AZ Caring Services Ltd, you can give feedback on this service.
AZ Caring Services Ltd provides personal care to older and younger adults in their own homes, who require assistance with personal care needs or have need of stimulation and activity. The service can support some people on a 24-hour basis if needed. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting four people with their personal care needs.
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.
The registered provider and registered manager are the same person so we will refer to them throughout the report as the provider/registered manager.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe with the staff entering their homes. Relatives were very complimentary telling us "They have the right attitudes, these carers are so superior to others we've experienced." Relatives felt that the agency provided holistic care to them and their family member. One said "They've taken a lot of weight off of my shoulders, I have come to rely on them." Another said, "They stepped in and sorted out some issues we had in lockdown." Staff were trained to understand, recognise and act on abuse to keep people safe. The provider had acted to address previous shortfalls and improved systems and processes to ensure the service offered a good quality of care and that people were safe and well cared for.
Accidents and incidents were minimal but were monitored and responded to appropriately. Learning from when things went wrong was shared with staff to inform their practice.
There were enough staff to support people receiving the service. Staff were recruited safely and received appropriate training and supervision.
Staff had received additional infection control training to support their understanding of the Covid 19 pandemic. They were provided with personal protective equipment and they and relatives confirmed this was worn on every visit to keep everyone safe and to reduce risks of infection.
Medication was managed safely and improvements had been made to the way in which medicines administered were recorded. Regular counts were made of the amounts administered, this was to check that people were receiving the right level of medication when they needed it. Staff were trained in medication administration and their competency was checked annually.
Relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. Improvements had been made to make people and relatives aware of the complaints process. Relatives told us they knew how to raise issues and felt listened to. They and staff were surveyed annually for their views about the service but they were also contacted regularly to gauge their satisfaction. Feedback was used to inform service improvements.
Relatives told us that the provider/registered manager and staff were very approachable. Staff thought the provider/registered manager fostered an open and transparent culture. Staff meetings were held to discuss important changes and enabled staff to express their views. Regular audits were carried out to give the registered manager oversight of service quality and any emerging shortfalls. A new electronic system was effective in alerting the provider and office staff of any concerns quickly. Going forward there were plans to improve use of the system to help in the auditing process. The new system would also allow people and relatives to read their care notes with appropriate password protection.
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.
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 31 May 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider is no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-Led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for AZ Caring Services Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Follow up
Since the last inspection we recognised that the provider/registered manager had failed to display their rating. This was a breach of regulation and we issued a fine. The provider/registered manager accepted a fixed penalty and paid this in full. 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.
A Z Caring Services Ltd is an independent domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support for people in their own homes. The agency provides care for people mainly in Ashford, Kent and surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection, the service supported seven people who were a combination of private and local authority funded clients, some with complex needs, who received support with personal care tasks.
People’s experience of using this service:
People using the service told us the staff and manager were approachable and friendly; people felt safe when staff supported them and when they were in their home. Staff were introduced to people before they started to support them, and people received a schedule in advance of which staff would visit them and when. People told us staff stayed for the full duration of the planned visit, however, sometime staff were late.
We have made a recommendation about protecting people from abuse. This is for the registered person to familiarise themselves with safeguarding protocols of the local authorities with which they contract.
Care plans did not always contain risk assessments linked to people’s support needs to keep them safe; some risk assessments referred to guidance or policies which were not available locally for staff to review.
Records of medicines administered by staff and records of daily care delivered to people were not always completed.
Processes were not in place to ensure equipment used in people’s homes, such as lifting hoists and pressure relieving equipment were serviced, operating correctly or safe to use.
The service was not working according to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) and its requirements during our inspection. This is intended to ensure people receive information about any aspect of the service in a way which is useful and can be understood.
The service did not have effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided. Most checks completed were informal and were not always recorded.
Systems intended to develop learning from incidents and events were not in place, although people told us the service they received was reliable.
Staff were skilled in carrying out their role, however, systems to manage and record delivery of training were not well developed.
Appropriate staff were employed to meet the people’s needs. Staff said they were supported by the registered manager, however, although supervision meetings took place, they were not always recorded.
A relative told us staff were caring and respectful, always considering and promoting the person’s privacy and dignity.
People were encouraged to raise any concerns they had or make suggestions to improve the service they received, although no complaint process was available.
Staff felt there was an open culture where they were kept informed about any changes to their role. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and listened to their ideas and suggestions.
People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving a service including protected characteristics under the Equalities Act.
Relatives told us they felt safe with staff in their homes, they were confident that staff knew how to meet their relative’s needs in the way they preferred.
Processes were in place to identify and reduce any environmental risks to people and care workers.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
This was the first inspection of this service. The service is rated Requires Improvement.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will carry out another scheduled inspection to make sure the service improves.