A Caring Company Limited

Updated 18 May 2019

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. 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: This inspection was carried out by one inspector 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: A Caring Company is a Domiciliary Care Agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 57 people were using the service. Not everyone using A Caring Company received a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care', help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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 service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.’

What we did: Inspection site visit activity started on 25 March 2019 and ended on 1 April 2019. We visited the office location on 25 March 2019 to see the registered manager and staff team and to review care records and policies and procedures. On 26 and 28 March 2019 and 01 April 2019 we spoke to people who used the service to collect their feedback.

Before the inspection we gathered and reviewed information that we received from the provider on the provider information return (PIR). This is a document that the provider sent us saying how they were meeting the regulations, identified any key achievements and any plans for improvement. We also reviewed all information received from external sources such as the local authority and reviews of the service.

During the inspection we:

• Spoke with nine people using the service, six relatives, three care staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager, and an external commissioner.

• Gathered information from three care files which included all aspects of care and risk.

• Looked at two staff files including all aspects of recruitment, supervisions, and training records.

• Rotas and care visit schedules.

• Records of accidents, incidents and complaints.

• Audits, surveys and minutes of staff and professional meetings.

• Policies and procedures relating to the management of the service.

Following the inspection, we reviewed further evidence from the provider, given to us during the inspection, showing their quality auditing systems and processes and their plans to improve the service.

Updated 18 May 2019

About the service: A Caring Company is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes.

People’s experience of using this service: People were very positive about the care they received. People and their relatives told us that staff were kind and caring and that staff respected their preferences and their wishes.

People’s care plans were bespoke and personalised to meet their needs. People received care depending on their needs and preferences. People were supported to remain independent in their own homes and there was a culture of promoting this at the service.

People were kept safe from harm and abuse as systems used at the service identified and reduced any risks of harm to people.

Robust recruitment processes were followed when recruiting staff to ensure that they had the correct skills and character to work with people in their own homes.

People received thorough assessments of their needs to ensure that the service could support them. People and their relatives were extremely positive about this process and how involved they were in it.

The registered manager delivered all staff training and was passionate about promoting and empowering their staff. Staff were well-trained and knowledgeable in their job roles.

The registered manager and the staff team worked very well with other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people. People were complimentary about how the service knew them well and worked with other professionals to meet their needs.

People were supported with respect and dignity at the end of their lives and the service had received positive feedback from relatives of people who had been supported by the service at this time.

People and staff were very positive about the management of the service and felt able to feedback and contribute ideas.

The registered manager had a passion for providing high quality care and took their job role very seriously. The registered manager had instilled a culture of continuous improvement at the service.

The registered manager took pride in being very visible at the service and spent a lot of time working with people and staff to ensure that quality care was being provided by the service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 22/06/2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. During this inspection we found evidence continued to support the rating of good. More information is in the full report.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.