Bellastouch Ltd

Updated 8 June 2023

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure the registered manager would be present and available to speak with. Our inspection activity started on 5 May 2023 and ended on 12 May 2023. We visited the office location on 5 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We checked the information we had about the service including notifications they had sent us. A notification is information about incidents or events that providers are required to inform us about. We asked the local authority for information they had about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers 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 help plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met and spoke with the registered manager who is also the provider. Following the office visit we communicated with a person using the service to seek their feedback on the service they received. We reviewed a range of records including one care plan and care records, two staff recruitment records and staff training records. We also reviewed records used in managing the service for example, policies and procedures, monitoring tools and audits.

Updated 8 June 2023

About the service

Bellastouch Ltd is a domiciliary care service located within the Borough of Greenwich. It provides personal care and support to people living within their own homes. Not everyone using Bellastouch Ltd may receive a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care; that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to one person.

People’s experience of using this service

A person spoke positively about the service they received. Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place and staff had a good understanding of them. Recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs appropriately. Risks to people were assessed and there were systems in place that ensured medicines were managed safely. Procedures were in place to reduce the risk of infections and staff had enough personal protective equipment.

Assessments of people’s needs and wishes were completed and reviewed. People received support to maintain good health and to access services where this was required. 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 supported by staff who were kind and who understood their diverse needs. People's communication needs were assessed and met. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.

There were systems in place that provided oversight and good management of the service to monitor the quality of care that people received. The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals. People’s views were taken into account and the provider used feedback to help drive service improvements.

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 the CQC in November 2020 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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