Best Care Liverpool Limited

Updated 20 July 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

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 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.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with six people who used the service and four family members about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from information that the provider provided to us. This included training information and procedures in place.

Updated 20 July 2019

About the service

Best Care Liverpool Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes and within the local community. At the time of this inspection 28 people were using the service.

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 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.

We have made a recommendation in relation to a review of daily records completed by the staff team.

People's needs and wishes were assessed and planned for. Care plans identified the intended outcomes for people and how their needs were to be met. People received care and support from staff who had received training for their role. People were supported with their nutritional needs and access to support from health care professional when requested.

Systems for assessing and monitoring the quality and safety of the service were effective in identifying areas of improvement within the service. People and their family members described the registered manager and provider as accessible and supportive. Systems were in place to gather people's views on the service.

People were protected from abuse and the risk of abuse and staff understood their role in relation to this. People and their family members told us that the service was safe. Risks to people and others were identified and measures put in place to minimise harm. Good infection control procedures were in place.

Staff knew people well and were knowledgeable about individual's needs and how they were to be met. People and their family members knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint about the service. People were treated with kindness by staff. Staff provided care and support with positive outcomes for people.

Why we inspected: This was the first scheduled inspection of the service since its initial registration.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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