Background to this inspection
Updated
3 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 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 who visited Care Mark Warwick offices on the 12 August 2021. Off site, one expert by experience undertook telephone calls to people and relatives who consented to us calling them. An expert by experience is someone who has experience of someone who uses this type of service. These calls were completed on 13 August 2021 and staff telephone calls were completed 18 August 2021.
Service and service type
Care Mark Warwick provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes. CQC regulates the personal care provided.
The service had a registered manager. This means 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
We gave short notice of the inspection because of the risks associated with COVID-19. This meant that we could discuss how to ensure everyone remained safe during the inspection.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service and provider and used any information the provider had sent us from their annual Provider Information Return. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During our inspection we spoke with two people who received a service and seven relatives of those who were supported by the agency. We spoke with two members of care staff. We also spoke with one field care supervisor, one care call co-ordinator and the registered manager who also supported people with personal care.
We reviewed a range of records. This included examples of two people's care records and examples of medication records. We also looked at two staff recruitment files and records that related to the management and quality assurance of the service, especially around managing risk, medicines management, complaints, compliments and systems to manage care call timings.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
3 September 2021
About the service
Care Mark Warwick is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes, including young people and older people who have a physical disability and people living with dementia. At the time of our visit the agency supported 45 people, of which 32 people received personal care.
CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is to help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do provide personal care, staff also consider any wider social care provided. All most all care calls ranged from 30-minute duration to 1 hour. At the time of our visit, no one received care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
Everyone we spoke with were extremely complimentary about the service they or their relative received. People told us they felt safe because staff were well trained and knew what they were doing. People and relatives said staff who supported them, instilled confidence and that made them feel relaxed and happy because staff knew them really well.
People said staff arrived on time and stayed for the allocated time and their care was provided to them by a reliable and consistency team. Staffing rotas and call schedules were completed with consistency in mind. Staff told us this helped them get to know people well and their individual routines.
People were safe because staff were recruited safely. Staff and the provider knew how to keep people safe and protected from abusive practice. Systems to learn lessons when things went wrong helped to drive improvements.
People said staff were kind, caring, gentle and always willing to do what was needed and expected of them. People were cared for by staff who attended training relevant to their roles. Assessments were completed before care was provided. This helped to ensure staff had the relevant skills and knowledge to meet a person’s needs before a care package was begun. Staff followed infection control procedures in line with national guidance for reducing the spread of COVID-19.
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.
People’s plans of care were detailed for staff to provide safe care. The registered manager was in the process of updating care plans with important information. Staff’s knowledge of how to support people was consistent with people’s care records and what people told us.
Risks related to people’s care were recorded and reviewed. There were instructions for staff to follow to manage those identified risks, however for some risks, such as risks related to specialist equipment needed to be more personalised. The registered manager assured us this would be addressed, conversations with staff showed they knew how to manage risk. In some examples, intervention by a GP or occupational therapist had been sought to help keep people safe.
Audits and quality checks were completed. People, relatives and staff provided their feedback which helped ensure the quality of service continued to improve. People and staff were complimentary of the management team. Relatives we spoke with confirmed the quality of care was good and they felt well informed and engaged in how their family members were supported. Relatives said the management team was approachable and responsive.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
This service was registered with us on 17 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was first registered with the CQC.
Follow up
We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.