Mirage Care Ltd

Updated 26 May 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 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 two inspectors.

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 24 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 11 May 2021 and ended on 14 May 2021. We visited the office location on 11 May 2021.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, Healthwatch England and professionals who work with the service. 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 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager and one care worker.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. 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 the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 26 May 2021

About the service

Mirage Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to three people at the time of the 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

People told us they were very happy with the care they received. They spoke of staff who they said were kind, compassionate and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. One person told us, “I wish [the staff] every success for the future. I hope they will continue to be my carers as they are just an over and beyond agency.”

People were supported by staff who had received training on how to ensure they were safe. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s care needs and preferences and had their practice checked by the registered manager. People had plans in place to reduce the risk of harm and these were regularly monitored.

People’s medicines were well managed, and people were supported to order and administer their medicines where required.

People told us staff were on time and they had never experienced a missed care visit.

Staff followed COVID-19 measures to reduce the risks of spreading infections. People told us they felt safe and reassured that staff always wore gloves and aprons.

People were given choices and their consent sought for care. They were supported to be in control of all care decisions and reviews of care delivery. Staff also supported people to access various health professionals where required.

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.

All aspects of people’s care and feedback was regularly reviewed by the registered manager to identify any changes and areas for improvement. The registered manager ensured any issues were acted upon.

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 25/04/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection 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. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.