We carried out a review of the data available to us about Ace Care 4 U Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Ace Care 4 U Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Ace Care 4 U is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their homes. 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. There were 115 people using the service at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and they received safe care. Staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report concerns.
People had up to date risk assessments around their needs and environmental safety checks were in place to ensure people and staff were safe from harm.
There were satisfactory numbers of staff to support people. Pre-employment checks were undertaken on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work at the service.
People told us staff were kind, caring and respectful. Staff involved people in choices about their care and respected their right to privacy and treated them with dignity. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs. People’s end of life wishes were discussed. People felt able to complain openly if they needed to.
People were supported with their medicines in a safe and timely way. People’s nutritional needs were well supported. Staff monitored people’s healthcare needs to ensure they received the appropriate care that met their needs.
The service was well-led. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team. People and their relatives had the opportunity to give regular feedback on how the service was run. The management team had made recent improvements to the monitoring of the service.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 10 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The service had two registered managers in place at the time of our inspection. 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’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People continued to receive safe care. Staff had received appropriate adult safeguarding training and were aware of their role and responsibilities to protect people from avoidable harm. Risks associated with people’s individual needs had been assessed and plans were in place to mitigate any risks.
Staff underwent appropriate recruitment checks before they commenced their employment. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to receive their medicines safely.
People continued to receive effective care and support. Staff received an appropriate induction, ongoing training and opportunities to discuss and review their work, development and training needs.
The principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 had been applied where required. People were supported with any dietary and nutritional needs. People were supported with their health care needs
People continued to receive good care. People had developed positive relationships with staff who understood their needs. Staff were caring and mostly treated people with respect, kindness and dignity. People influenced their care when they were able to do so.
People continued to receive a service that was responsive to their individual needs. Staff had information available to support them to provide an individualised service based on people’s needs, preferences and routines. The provider had a complaints policy and procedure.
The service people received was being monitored. The provider had installed a new phone system to make it easier for people to contact the office.
We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 3 August 2015.
The service provides care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care and support to 75 people.
The service had two registered managers. 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’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and their relatives told us they felt they were cared and supported safely and appropriately. Support workers had a good understanding of the various types of abuse and their roles and responsibilities in reporting any safeguarding concerns.
People’s needs were assessed and planned for when they first started using the service. This information was then developed into a plan of care and other documentation such as risk assessments were completed. This information was reviewed for changes and communicated to support workers.
People and their relatives said support workers were kind and caring and had a good work ethic. Additionally they said that office staff were polite and responsive when they contacted them.
The provider ensured there were sufficient support workers employed and deployed appropriately. There was a system in place that monitored visits by support workers that identified late or missed calls. People received visits from regular support workers. No concerns about visit times being met or the duration of visits were raised. Safe recruitment checks were in place that ensured people were cared for by suitable support workers.
People and their relatives said they found support workers to be competent and knowledgeable. Consent to care and support had been assessed and recorded. People were supported appropriately with their food and fluids. Support was provided with people’s healthcare needs and action was taken when changes occurred.
Support workers were appropriately supported, which consisted of formal and informal meetings to discuss and review their learning and development needs. Support workers additionally received an induction and ongoing training. Support workers were positive about the leadership of the service and were clear about the vision and values of the service.
The provider had checks in place that monitored the quality and safety of the service. The provider had notified us of important events registered providers are required to do.