Archived: D.Care

Updated 29 August 2018

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

This inspection was announced; we gave the provider 48 hours' notice of our inspection as it was a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure key staff members would be available.

This inspection was conducted over two days. The first day of the inspection was carried out on 10 July 2018 by one inspector who visited the service’s office and two experts by experience who conducted telephone interviews with people and their family members. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service. The second day of the inspection was carried out on the 13 July 2018 and was completed by one inspector who visited people who used the service in their own homes.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications we had been sent by the provider. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

During the inspection we spoke with 21 people who used the service, or their relatives, by telephone and visited five people in their own homes. We spoke with the provider's representative, the registered manager, the operations manager and eight care staff. We looked at care records for 10 people. We also reviewed records about how the service was managed, including staff training and recruitment records, complaints procedure, compliments, and audits completed by the management team.

Updated 29 August 2018

D.Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to older adults, people living with dementia and physical disabilities.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Not everyone using D.Care 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 take into account any wider social care provided.

This inspection was undertaken on 10 and 13 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of our inspection as we needed to be sure key staff members would be available. At the time of the inspection 112 people were receiving a regulated activity from D.Care.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

Not all staff had received up to date training, yet people felt the staff to be competent and the provider’s representative was taking action to ensure staff followed their training schedule consistently.

There were sufficient numbers of staff available to attend all calls and the management team were reviewing the allocation processes to ensure they were robust.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes.

People told us they felt safe. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to prevent, identify and report abuse. Risks relating to the health and support needs of the people and the environment in which they lived were assessed and managed effectively.

Where staff supported people to take their medicines, we found this was done in a safe way. Staff followed infection control procedures and used personal protective equipment when needed.

Staff completed an induction programme and were appropriately supported in their work by the management team.

Staff followed legislation to protect people’s rights and sought consent before providing care or support to people.

Where staff were responsible for preparing meals, they encouraged people to be involved in making choices about what to eat and supported them to maintain a healthy, balanced diet based on their individual needs and preferences.

Staff had built positive relationships with people, encouraged them to be as independent as possible and involved them in decisions about their care.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and protected people’s privacy during personal care.

People were also supported to raise complaints should they wish to.

At the time of the inspection no one using the service was receiving end of life care. However, the registered manager assured us that people would be supported to receive a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death.

People had confidence in the service and felt it was managed effectively.

There was an effective quality assurance process in place at the service. The management team sought and acted on feedback from people. Arrangements were in place to share lessons learnt from incidents and inspections and to promote best practice.

There was an open and transparent culture. The registered manager notified CQC of all significant events and policies were in place to encourage staff to raise concerns.