Love 2 Care Homecare Services Ltd

Updated 11 November 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, 1 inspection manager 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 and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 8 March 2023 and ended on 31 March 2023. We visited the location’s office 8 March 2023 and on the 17 March 2023.

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 used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. In addition, we referred to the last inspection report and the action plan we received from the provider and used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we looked at the care records for 10 people. We also looked at 6 staff files and other records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with 7 people, 7 relatives, the registered manager, the deputy manager, the in-house trainer and 6 staff members.

After the inspection

Following the inspection, we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 11 November 2023

About the service

Love 2 Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service provides support to older people in their own homes in the Swindon area. At the time of our inspection there were 56 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There were systems to monitor the service. However, these systems were not always effective and did not always identify concerns relating to risks, planning, training and punctuality.

Risk assessments did not always identify how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm and we saw that not all staff were trained to carry out care related to specific risks. However, staff we spoke with understood the risks to people, delivered safe care and knew how to seek guidance if needed. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs.

People's care plans were person-centred and focused on what was important to people. However, not all care plans were accurate or up to date, and some missed key information to ensure people were supported safely.

Not every staff member had received training to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. We saw that supervision/spot check meetings for staff had not been held regularly since the last inspection, but we saw a supervision schedule was now in place. Staff told us they felt supported by the management to perform their role.

People told us staff were not always punctual and that visit times varied from day to day, however, we also heard that staff often communicated to people if they were going to be very late. A new system had very recently been installed to monitor visits.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People were kept safe from abuse and harm, and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns.

People and their relatives were involved in reviews and were supported to express any concerns they may have. People felt they were treated with kindness and spoke positively about staff.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 29 June 2022. Breaches of legal requirements relating to safe care and treatment and good governance were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

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 and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has not changed and remains requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have identified continued breaches in relation to Regulation 17 (Good Governance) and Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Love 2 Care Homecare Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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