Tamarisk Care Agency

Updated 24 June 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

One inspector and an Expert by Experience completed this inspection. 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.

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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and five relatives about the quality of care the service provided. We spoke with six members of staff the deputy manager and the provider. We also gathered feedback from two professionals who worked with the service regularly. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records, medication records, staff rotas, a training matrix and the provider’s policies and procedures.

Updated 24 June 2022

About the service

Tamarisk Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to predominantly older people who may be living with dementia and/or have a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 30 people using the 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 and what we found

People told us they felt safe with their care staff who were kind, caring, patient and compassionate. Relatives and professionals were also complimentary of the quality of care the service provided.

Staff were recruited safety and there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. We found people normally received their visits on time and for the planned duration. Staff rotas included appropriate travel time and staff told us they did not have to rush.

Risk in relation to people’s care needs and the environment had been appropriately assessed and local safeguarding procedures were well understood.

Staff had access to good supplies of PPE and there were appropriate infection control procedure in place to manage risk associated with COVID-19.

Staff training had been regularly updated and there were systems to ensure any learning from incidents was shared promptly to prevent similar events recurring.

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.

The service worked collaboratively with health professionals to enable people to continue to live at home for as long as possible.

People’s care plans were concise, accurate and informative. The provided staff with sufficient guidance on people support needs and daily care records had been accurately completed.

The provider led the service well and quality assurance system were effective. Staff told us they were well supported and people and their relatives were complimentary of the service’s leadership.

People were happy to recommend the service and told us, “The company is well managed and we would recommend them to anyone”.

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

Rating at last inspection

This is the first inspection since the service reregistered with CQC under a new legal entity on 20 August 2019.The last rating for this service under the previous provider was good (22 February 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this comprehensive inspection as the service is now operated by a new provider and thus needed to be rated.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.