16 March 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Candlelight Homecare Services Wimborne Area Office is a domiciliary care agency providing person care and support to people in their own homes and flats. The service provides support to older people some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people receiving personal care.
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.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group. This was considered throughout the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements were needed as governance processes and oversight were either not in place or operating effectively within the service. Systems had not been established to monitor, safety, quality, and ensure the service continually sought to improve. The provider had not identified the shortfalls found within this inspection but had been responsive since the inspection to address the improvements needed.
Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing had been identified. However, guidance was not always in place to ensure staff worked to reduce risks and in safe ways. We have made a recommendation about the assessment and management of risk.
People received their medicines as prescribed. However, oversight of medicines was not robust. Medicines care plans were not in place. Guidance had not been created to ensure medicines taken as required were offered consistently. We have made a recommendation about medicines and safe practices.
Accidents and incidents were reported, recorded, and reviewed. However, learning from incidents was not always shared within the service and providers locations. The service actively sought feedback on the service it provided, this was not shared with people, this was an area for development.
Recruitment procedures were in place and robust, ensuring staff had the necessary values and skills to support people who needed care services. People and their relatives told us they were satisfied with the service they received. There were enough staff to meet the needs of people, the service worked continually to provide regular staff to promote continuity of care.
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. Infection prevention and control procedures were robust, and staff had enough supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Staff felt appreciated and told us they were proud to work for Candlelight Homecare Services Wimborne Area Office. We received positive feedback about the management team and the registered manager was approachable and contactable.
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 28 September 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified a breach of regulation in relation to the management and oversight of the service. We have made recommendations about risk and medicines management at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.