Crown Senior Care

Updated 12 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection visit was carried out by an inspector. Before the visit to the agency's office, we contacted people who used the service, their representatives and staff for feedback. Telephone calls to people using the service and their representatives were made by 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 provides domiciliary care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides personal care to older adults, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were eight people using the service. They lived in the London Borough of Hounslow and Surrey, within a close geographical area and all within 15 minutes travel by car from the agency's office.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. They were also the owner of the company. 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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

We looked at all the information we held about the service, including information they had provided us with during their registration. We spoke with the relatives of six people who used the service and one care giver over the telephone.

We met the registered manager during our visit to the agency office and we looked at the care records for three people using the service, four staff recruitment and training files and other records the provider used to manage the service, which included information about medicines, quality monitoring, complaints and meeting minutes.

Updated 12 April 2019

About the service: Crown Senior Care provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes in and around the London Borough of Hounslow and Surrey. The service is the only location of a private company which was registered with CQC in 2018. At the time of our inspection, eight older adults were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People using the service, and their representatives, were happy with the care and support they received. They found the registered manager and care givers kind, polite and professional. They had developed good relationships with these staff. Their needs were being met in a personalised way and they were involved in planning their care and making decisions about this.

¿ Relatives felt confident that people were being cared for safely and in a personalised way. They told us how the agency had provided peace of mind and one relative commented, ''They are amazing, and it is getting easier to have some time for myself, now I have found an agency I trust.''

¿ The staff were well supported, trained and had the information they needed to care for people in a safe way. The registered manager provided care to people and also worked alongside the other care givers to assess their work and make sure they were meeting people's needs. There were regular individual and team meetings to discuss the service and make sure there was a consistent approach.

¿ People were being cared for in a safe way. They received their medicines as prescribed and staff understood how to handle medicines appropriately. The risks to people's safety and wellbeing had been assessed and planned for. People were supported to take risks but were also protected from harm because the staff followed clear guidance to support people safely. There were procedures designed to safeguard people from abuse. The staff received training and information about these and discussed these subjects during team meetings.

¿ The agency worked closely with families and external professionals to make sure people's healthcare needs were met and they responded to accidents and other changes in people's needs. People received the support they needed with mealtimes and the care givers monitored people's food and fluid intake where needed. The agency worked closely with other care providers where they jointly cared for people, to make sure they shared information and guidance.

¿ There were a range of policies and procedures which were shared with stakeholders. There were procedures for dealing with concerns, complaints, accidents and incidents; as well as systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service. The registered manager asked people using the service, care givers and other representatives for feedback about the service and made changes to reflect this feedback.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with CQC on the 9 May 2018.

Why we inspected: We inspected the service as part of our planned programme of inspections based on the date of registration.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. We may inspect sooner if we receive any concerning information regarding the safety and quality of the care being provided.

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