Compassion Care Limited

Compassion Care is registered as a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity ‘personal care’ to people who live in their own homes in Cotgrave and surrounding areas. At the time of the inspection visit there were 21 people using the service. The service is owned by two people one of who is the nominated individual and one who is the registered manager. We have referred to them throughout this report as the registered persons.

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 received a high-quality service which exceeded their expectations. They used words such as excellent, superb and fantastic to describe the support they received and told us that they considered the staff as their friends. They received care from a small number of staff who knew their needs well. People were confident that staff would turn up on time and rotas supported staff to keep to their planned schedule. Staff training and ongoing support was in place. The registered persons and staff went the extra mile in ensuring that people were safe and well cared for, identifying alternative care and equipment to suit people’s individual needs.

Staff supported and helped to maintain people’s relationship with their family members and the local community. Staff were aware of the activities people liked to do and ensured they had everything they needed at each care visit.

People had been fully involved in planning their care and care plans reflected people’s needs and were kept up to date. Risks were fully identified and care was planned to keep people safe. Relatives were confident that the provider had arranged for any equipment needed to minimise risks. Medicines were safely managed and monitored, and staff worked to minimise the risk of infection.

People received compassionate care at the end of their lives and staff worked collaboratively with palliative care professionals to support people’s needs. Appropriate medicines were arranged to keep people pain free at this time.

Staff had received training in keeping people safe and relatives told us of how vigilant staff were around people’s safety and how supportive they had been when there were any concerns.

Staff monitored people’s health and raised concerns with healthcare professionals appropriately. They worked collaborately with health and social care professionals to improve the quality of people’s lives.

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.

Effective monitoring of the care provided was in place. Accidents and complaints were investigated and effective action taken to keep people safe. The registered persons put people using the service and staff wellbeing at the heart of the service. They continued to develop the service to improve the care provided to people.

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 08 March 2016). At this inspection we found the provider had maintained the rating of good.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Compassion Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 and were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe and understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health and safety were managed and plans were in place to identify and reduce the risk to people’s safety. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s care needs and staff were recruited safely. People received the level of support they required to safely manage their medicines.

People were supported by staff who received appropriate induction, training, supervision and appraisal. Staff were fully supported by management. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received the assistance they required to have enough to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.

People were treated with kindness and compassion and spoke highly of the staff. People reported positive and caring relationships had been developed between themselves and the staff. People felt able to contribute to decisions about their care and were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and how they wanted their care delivered. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People received the care they needed and staff were aware of the different support each person required. Care records were written in a person centred way that focused on people’s wishes and respected their views. Care plans provided sufficient information for staff to provide personalised care. A complaints process was in place, and people felt able to make a complaint. People felt confident that staff would be respond in a timely manner.

People felt empowered to contribute to the development of the service. The registered manager actively sought people’s views and acted on them. There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. The service was led by a registered manager who had a clear understanding of their role and how to improve the lives of all of the people at the service. They had a robust auditing process in place that identified the risks to people and the service as a whole and they were dealt with quickly and effectively.

When we last inspected this service on 17 January 2014 we found the service did not have suitable arrangements in place to ensure staff were receiving appropriate training, professional development, supervision and appraisal in a timely manner. At this inspection we found the provider had addressed the issues raised in the previous inspection. A summary of what we found is set out below.

Is the service safe?

One person who used the service told us care staff were, 'Very competent at what they do.'

We saw the service obtained advice about any health concerns from healthcare professionals working in the community.

The service provided additional training and support for care staff if an error had been made, for example, in supporting people with their medicines.

Is the service effective?

People's care plans were reviewed and records of the care provided were reviewed by the manager. The care records we looked at showed risks, such as people falling, were identified. Care staff had recorded ways of reducing risk when providing care.

Is the service responsive?

People who used the service told us the service responded to any issues they raised. One person told us, 'If I have any concerns I ring the office. I am confident anything I raise will get dealt with.'

We saw the service had worked closely with a charity to obtain a piece of equipment for a person.

Is the service caring?

One person told us care staff had supported them to attend a family event. They said they would not have been able to attend the event without support.

Another person told us care staff, 'Are understanding and caring and I really feel they are there for me when I need them.'

Is the service well led?

The service obtained the views of people who used the service and their relatives. People who used the service told us the manager frequently spoke to them about the service and responded to any issues or concerns they raised.

The service had systems in place for reporting and responding to incidents.

A relative told us they were visited by the agency to discuss the care package for their family member. They told us they were fully involved in the care needs of their relative to ensure their care needs would be met.

People who used the service told us they were treated with dignity and respect by the people who cared for them. One person said, 'They always ask my permission before they cream my legs.' Another person said, 'When they help me to get dressed they keep it very private and close the door.'

We found care plans were person centred and contained detailed information for each individual. We saw each file that we looked at had appropriate care assessments, risk assessments and information relevant to the service the agency provided.

We saw policies and procedures were in place to ensure people were kept safe. One person told us they felt very safe with the people who cared for them. We found the relevant check had taken place including information form the disclosure and barring service, which carries out individual checks on people who work with vulnerable adults.

We found staff had undertaken an induction before they started working at the agency. We saw staff had gained certificates and qualifications relevant to the work they did.