Caremark (Havering)

Updated 3 June 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector 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

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

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission; however the provider’s nominated individual had applied to register and their application was being assessed. The registered manager 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

Our inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice 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 March 2021 and ended on 19 March 2021. We visited the office location on 19 March 2021.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed relevant information that we had about the service including any notifications of incidents affecting the safety and wellbeing of people. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the nominated individual, who managed the service, a co-director and one member of care staff. We spoke with five people and four relatives by telephone for their feedback about the service.

We reviewed documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the service. We reviewed six care plans and four staff recruitment files. We also looked at staff training records, audits, rotas, complaint and incident records.

After the inspection

We spoke with a field care supervisor and two care staff by telephone. We continued to seek further evidence and clarification from the provider, which we have included in the report. We requested feedback from social care professionals.

Updated 3 June 2021

About the service

Caremark (Havering) provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service provided personal care to 16 people. 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

There was strong leadership and governance of the service that conveyed a positive culture and an ethos of compassionate, personalised care that was tailored for each person. The values of the management team were embedded within the service. We found the management team inspired the staff to deliver a safe and caring service by leading by example, such as by getting to know each and every person, visiting them and providing care, training staff themselves and developing innovative ways to prevent social isolation.

People were highly respected and well treated. They received a service that was exceptionally responsive and well-led. People were treated as individuals and their personal histories, cultures and values were identified to help deliver a personalised service.

People and relatives told us the service they received was of a high standard and staff were safe, reliable, kind and compassionate. They could trust that staff and managers understood their needs and they felt engaged and involved in how the service was run.

The service had a key role in the local community and was passionately involved in supporting people to take part in activities and develop and maintain relationships. They worked in partnership with local charities to support people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the provider initiated a befriending service for elderly people in the local area. The provider has been nominated for a national care award.

People and staff’s equality characteristics were respected. Staff understood the importance of promoting equality, diversity and human rights.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were encouraged to maintain their independence.

There were procedures to protect people from abuse. Risks associated with their needs were assessed and staff understood how to reduce these risks. People were supported with taking their medicines by staff. Audits and spot checks took place to check staff had followed correct medicine procedures. There was a procedure to review and analyse accidents and incidents in the service to prevent reoccurrence. Staff followed safe practices to prevent and control infections.

Staff were recruited safely and their backgrounds checked before they started working for the service. People were supported with maintaining their health and nutrition. The service worked with health care professionals, to ensure their health needs were met. People's communication needs were understood by staff. People knew how to make complaints about the service.

Staff were supported with training and development to ensure their skills and knowledge were up to date. Staff felt well supported by the management team. Quality assurance systems included obtaining feedback from people and relatives.

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 15/08/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We carried out this inspection following a routine review of information we held about this service. Our intelligence indicated that that there may be a higher level of risk at this service because the service did not have a registered manager and had not been inspected since registering. We also inspected to help support local systems and increase capacity by creating opportunities for people to be referred to a service that has had an inspection and received a rating.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.