Care4Less Limited

Updated 23 May 2019

The inspection: We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: This consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type: Care4Less Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of this inspection there were two people who received a regulated activity. 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 visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure they would be in.

What we did: Before our inspection visit, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we contacted two people using the service and one relative to get their feedback. We also spoke with three care staff and the registered manager. The provider also employed the services of a care consultant, they were present during our visit to the agency’s office. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records, staff records, audits and records related to the management of the service.

Updated 23 May 2019

About the service:

Care4Less Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of the inspection they were supporting two people. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

What life is like for people using this service:

People told us that they felt safe using the service and staff were confident that any concerns would be dealt with appropriately. Staff followed infection control guidance and had access to personal protective equipment. People received their medicine as prescribed. Effective risk assessments and management plans ensured people were supported to manage risks in their daily lives.

Care staff had the skills, knowledge and support required to meet people’s needs. People consent was sought before staff provided care and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

People received support from care staff that were of a caring nature. People who used the service told us that staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. People had regular care staff who knew how they liked to be supported.

The provider had a system in place for responding to complaints. People's concerns had been considered and responded to in a timely way following the service's procedure.

People and their relative were satisfied with the service they received. Regular monitoring and auditing of care records and practice helped to maintain the quality and values of the service people received. Improvements were needed to systems for monitoring of care calls and to some procedures and records. As the service was small this had not had any impact on people. The registered manager was receptive to this feedback and keen to continuously improve.

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

Why we inspected: This was the first inspection following the service registering in June 2018.

Follow up: The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.

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