Care & Carers - Buckinghamshire

Updated 24 December 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.

Inspection activity started on 17 October 2019 and ended on 06 November 2019 We visited the office location on 17 October 2019.

What we did before the inspection

Before this inspection, we looked at the information we already held about the service, this included reviewing notifications we received from the service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law.

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.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with three people and four relatives about their experience of care provided. We spoke with six members of staff, this included care staff, care managers and the registered manager.

We examined a range of records, these included four care plans, two staff files and a variety of records relating the management of the service.

Updated 24 December 2019

About the service

Care and Carers - Buckinghamshire is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 14 people at the time of our inspection.

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

The service assessed people’s needs and responded to people’s protected equality characteristics in a way that promoted equality and valued diversity. Staff treated people as individuals and demonstrated person centred values in their care.

Technology was used in an innovative way to ensure people were partners in their care planning. People were well supported to maintain existing relationships as well as develop new community links. People told us that the service regularly consulted them and listened to their feedback.

People were cared for by staff who were recruited and trained safely, people told us they felt safe when receiving care in their homes. The service had systems in place to protect people from abuse and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding principles. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were assessed and actions were put in place to manage these risks.

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.

People were complimentary about the care they received, they told us that staff were caring and consistent. Staff respected the privacy and dignity of people they supported.

The service was well led. Staff, people and their relatives told us they were confident in the management of the service. There were appropriate quality assurance systems in place to ensure quality and safety of care was maintained.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 26 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection in line with our inspection schedule.

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.