Background to this inspection
Updated
21 September 2021
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 planned this inspection to check 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
The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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
Foremost Care UK Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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 carried out the inspection visit on 18 August. It was announced. We did this because the manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be available at their office .
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection.The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We went to the service's office and spoke with the registered manager and four care staff. We looked at five people’s care records and three staff records; we also looked at various documents relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We spoke to ten relatives and three people who used the service.
Updated
21 September 2021
About the service
Foremost Care UK Limited provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 28 people were receiving a personal care 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
People and relatives told us they were extremely happy with the care and support they received because they felt safe and all their needs were met by kind and caring staff.
People and their relatives felt fully involved in their assessments of risks and needs. Care plans supported the service to identify people's needs and risks. In some areas, more information was needed to manage risks to people’s safety. We have made a recommendation about this.
People had access to healthcare services and were involved in decisions about their care. Partnerships with other agencies and health professionals enabled effective outcomes for people. Staff supported people to take medicines safely.
Staff understood the actions needed to minimise the risk of avoidable harm including the prevention of avoidable infection. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood their role in identifying and reporting any concerns of potential abuse or poor practice.
People and staff praised the managers of the service and agreed that they were approachable, knowledgeable, fair and did their job well. The staff team worked well together and supported the manager.
The staff team was committed to providing a high-quality service. They had undertaken training so that they were skilled and knowledgeable to effectively meet people’s needs.
Staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff knew people well. The service followed safer recruitment practices. There were enough staff to meet people's care needs and there were systems in place to allocate and deploy staff safely. People and staff told us that staff worked consistently with the same people and got to know their needs and preferences.
People were given choices about the way in which they were cared for. Staff listened to them and knew their needs well. People told us that staff were able to meet their needs and were respectful of their individual preferences.
People confirmed the service did not miss any care calls and that staff were usually on time. .
People told us that day to day issues they raised would be quickly resolved. Where issues had been raised with management, they had taken action to address the concerns.
Staff we spoke with felt well supported in their roles. They told us they had clear guidance and the registered manager was always available if they had any queries. Staff spoke highly of the management and support they gave staff during the pandemic.
The provider had systems in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 24 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management of complaints. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has remained good..
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.