We carried out a review of the data available to us about Care O.W.L. 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 Care O.W.L. Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Care O.W.L Limited is a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) providing personal older adults with dementia, with a varying level of personal care needs. Staff provided care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting 15 people. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Care plans had information and guidelines to help staff provide care in a safe and person-centred way. They contained information for staff to ensure people’s risk of pressure ulceration was managed in a safe way.
Relatives felt the staff were on time for calls and would go above and beyond. There were safe recruitment processes in place to ensure people were supported by suitable staff.
Relatives told us the service supported people with their food and drink and tried to enable them to be as actively involved as possible in food preparation.
The service worked in partnership with GPs and specialist teams to make sure care and treatment met people’s needs.
Relatives told us about the professional and friendly support they received from Care O.W.L. Limited. Relatives consistently told us how the service encouraged people to do things to help gain their independence. Care plan were reviewed when people were in hospital to ensure they were up to date when people were discharged.
The provider held a dementia activity café weekly, which helped to stimulate people and avoid social isolation.
Relatives told us they could approach the registered manager, or one of the staff, if they had any issues.
There was a clear management structure in place. Staff all spoke highly of the culture within the organisation and of the registered manager.
Health professionals were positive about the support people received from Care O.W.L Limited.
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 09 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.
There was a registered manager 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 and their relatives told us they felt very safe whilst receiving care. Staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and what to do to report it. Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s assessed risks. People told us they were supported by sufficient staff who were always on time and stayed the correct amount of time. The provider had a safe recruitment process in place which ensured people were supported by appropriate staff. All the people we spoke with said they received their medicines on time.
People and their relatives told us the staff who supported them had been trained appropriately to meet their needs. People were involved in making decisions about their own care. When people required support to meet their nutritional needs staff provided the support they needed. People were supported to access outside health professionals.
Without exception everyone we spoke with told us how kind and considerate the staff were. They said staff regularly went over what was expected of them to ensure people received exceptional care. People told us staff always respected their privacy and dignity and treated them with respect. People told us where possible staff enabled them to be as independent as they were able.
People and their relatives told us they were involved in their care and were given choices about the support they received. Staff respected people’s views and choices. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and individual preferences. The provider had a system in place should people wish to complain, however everyone told us they had not needed to because they were very happy about the care they received.
People told us the service was very well run and they could approach the registered manager when they needed to. People were happy to recommend the service to other people. Staff told us there was strong leadership in the service and they felt supported in their roles and were involved in how the service was run. Systems were in place to ensure people got safe, effective care which responded to their individual needs.