12 March 2021
During a routine inspection
EXCELCARETV is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection, they were providing care to one person.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service had not followed their recruitment policy and staff recruitment processes were not robust. The staff recruitment records we checked did not contain all the relevant documents to ensure safe recruitment procedures. Staff had received mandatory training online however they had not undertaken practical training such as moving and handling people. We were told this was due to the risk of face to face training associated with the pandemic. The registered manager told us they were planning practical training when it was safe to do so.
One relative told us they felt their family member was safe using the service and said that if there were any concerns their family member would tell them. The relative told us staff were patient and kind and treated their family member with dignity and respect. Staff understood the person’s care needs and promoted their independence. 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.
Care plans were person-centred, however the information provided for staff on how to support the person’s needs and how to mitigate risks was limited. As staff knew the person well, this did not impact on the care the person received, however there could be potential future risks if new staff attended.
Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and supportive. The registered manager undertook spot checks frequently to ensure staff competency and conducted supervision meetings. Staff meetings were held, and we reviewed the minutes. Audits were completed for some areas of care including medicine administration records (MAR) and review of care plans.
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 07 May 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection of a new service.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.
We have identified a breach in relation to staff recruitment. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.