Background to this inspection
Updated
5 August 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 two inspectors and one 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
CaringPlus Healthcare Services Limited are a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. There was a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. 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 provider two days’ notice of the inspection. The office site visit took place on 2 July 2021.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to return a provider information return (PIR) 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 looked at the intelligence we held and notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law.
During the inspection
During the site office visit we met the registered manager, the deputy manager and reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s electronic care records and samples of medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service including a care plans audit and complaints log were also viewed. We telephoned six people and three relatives to seek their views.
After the inspection
We contacted 13 staff to gather their feedback. We emailed four external professionals and received feedback from two. We received one additional feedback from a relative. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
5 August 2021
About the service:
CaringPlus Healthcare Services Limited, referred to as CaringPlus Healthcare in this report, are a new domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service operates mostly in west and south Oxfordshire. On the day of the inspection 28 people were in receipt of the regulated activity.
People’s experience of using this service:
People told us they were safe receiving care from the service and experienced continuity of care. Staff told us and people confirmed staff adhered to infection control guidance and wore personal protective equipment.
There was a registered manager appointed who was supported by a deputy and the director. The provider’s quality assurance processes were not effective and did not identify concerns we found during our inspection. This included the requirement to inform the Care Quality Commission about reportable occurrences.
The provider did not ensure risks to people’s well-being and individual conditions were assessed and recorded. Details of people’s needs surrounding support they needed with taking their medicine were not outlined in people’s care records. People were not always protected from risks of unsafe recruitment as the evidence of staff checks and conduct were not sought prior to the staff working with adults at risk. Individual accidents had been recorded but there was no overview to monitor the accidents for any trends and lessons learnt.
People were supported with meeting their dietary needs, such as with meals preparation. Staff received ongoing training and people told us they felt staff were knowledgeable. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff supported people with accessing health care as required.
People told us they were supported by caring and compassionate staff and were able to establish meaningful, caring relationships with staff. Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and their individual needs including people’s cultural and communication needs.
People felt the support they had met their needs. Staff knew people’s needs well and feedback we had demonstrated some people felt the care received had a positive impact on them. The provider had a system to log complaints and people knew how to raise these.
People said they felt listened to and their views were sought. The team worked well in partnership with other agencies and the local social and health professionals. We received positive feedback from two professionals who praised the service’s caring approach and the care provided to people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
The service was registered with us on 3 August 2020 and this was their first inspection.
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 discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and the legal requirement to notify the Care Quality Commission about reportable occurrences.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up:
We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.
More information is in detailed findings below.