We carried out a review of the data available to us about Carefound Home Care (Harrogate) 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 Carefound Home Care (Harrogate), you can give feedback on this service.
This inspection took place on 14 and 30 August 2017 and was announced.
At our last inspection in June 2015 the service was meeting the Regulations and was rated outstanding overall. At this inspection the service remained outstanding.
Carefound Home Care (Harrogate) is a domiciliary care service that provides support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 40 people receiving a service. The service also provided 24 hour, live in, care to six people who lived in the local community. People who used the service were mainly older people, people living with dementia, Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions.
We observed very positive and compassionate relationships between people and care workers. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and were without exception, extremely complimentary about the care received. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect and as individuals by care workers who were kind and caring. The service promoted people’s independence and provided skilled and sensitive care, including end of life care.
The care people received was extremely person centred and was regularly reviewed. It took into account people’s life experiences and their physical and emotional needs. The provider and staff team understood the impact of social isolation and demonstrated how they reduced this by involving people in the local community.
People told us the service was well-led and all the care workers we spoke with were clear about the service’s vision which put people at the centre of their support. Staff were highly motivated and contributed to the development of the service. The registered manager showed us how they had achieved outstanding practice, development and continual improvements of the service.
The provider had investigated any complaints thoroughly and actioned any learning from feedback they received. Robust processes were in place to record and analyse incidents to reduce the likelihood of them reoccurring and ensured the staff continued to learn from them and maintain a high quality standard of care.
People received exceptionally effective care. The provider and their staff worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure people’s needs were met and followed current best practice to provide a high quality service.
People we spoke with told us they felt safe using the service. Care workers were knowledgeable of the types and signs of abuse and felt confident reporting any concerns to the management team to ensure people were protected. Risk assessments were in place to reduce the risk of harm.
There were robust and safe recruitment processes to prevent unsuitable staff working with vulnerable people. Care workers received regular supervision and received training to enable them to fulfil their role. People received support from a consistent team of staff and there were sufficient staff to meet people's needs.
Medicines were managed safely and care workers had received training based on current best practice guidelines.
People told us care workers were well trained and went the extra mile to meet their needs. We saw the service had a comprehensive induction programme.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
People were supported to eat and drink to promote their wellbeing and care workers supported their healthcare needs where needed. Health professionals were contacted appropriately and promptly to ensure any changes to people’s needs were addressed.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
This inspection took place on 10 June 2015. It was an announced inspection. The last inspection took place on 20 September 2013 and the service was meeting the regulations we assessed.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
At the time of our inspection there were 38 people who received a service from the agency. The service also provided 24 hour, live in, care to four people who lived in the local community. People who used the service were mainly older people living with dementia, Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions.
People told us they felt safe and trusted the care staff who came into their home to support them. Care staff demonstrated a good understanding of how to safeguard adults at risk of harm. The safeguarding policy was up to date and included recent changes to legislation following the introduction of the Care Act, 2014. This meant staff had the most up to date guidance to help them safeguard people. Appropriate risk assessments were in place to reduce the risk of harm.
There were enough staff to provide the support people required, we saw gaps were left in the rota to allow care staff adequate time to travel to see the next person. People were supported by a consistent team of staff and told us they were reliable. The service had effective and robust systems in place to recruit staff.
People were supported to have their medicines safely. Staff were trained and the medication policy was based on good practice guidelines.
People spoke highly of the care staff and told us they were skilled and well trained. We saw the service had a comprehensive induction programme in place and worked hard to assure themselves people were equipped to deliver a high standard of care. Care staff had access to ongoing training, supervision and had a personal development plan.
The service provided good care for people living with dementia. Care staff had specific training to support them to understand how to help people with dementia live well. They worked in partnership with organisations to ensure they kept up to date with good practice in dementia care.
People were supported to have a good diet. Care staff identified concerns regarding weight loss and sought advice from health care professionals. Every time a new person started with the service the care co-ordinator contacted their doctor to let them know they were involved. This meant they were proactive in developing relationships with health care professionals.
The service was working to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and care staff supported people to make their own choices about their care.
People told us the care they received was excellent and that care staff went that extra mile. Care staff spoke with passion about delivering a good standard of care. They told us they would be happy for their family member to receive care from the service. There was a focus on maintaining people’s independence and people’s confidentiality was respected.
Care was planned and delivered in partnership with people and their families. Care plans were person centred and focused on people’s well-being and social activity rather than a task centred approach to care. Care was reviewed on a regular basis. There was a strong focus on reducing social isolation and people were supported to be involved in their community.
People knew how to make complaints. The service investigated complaints thoroughly and was keen to improve the service.
People told us the service was well-led and that the ethos of the service was about ensuring a high standard of care. Care staff told us they enjoyed working for the organisation and felt very well supported.
There was a leadership team who were committed to delivering a good service. They held regular meetings and had effective systems in place to assure themselves they were delivering a high quality standard of care.
The leadership team had an appetite to continually improve the service; one example of this was their focus on work to develop specialist skills, knowledge and partnership links around end of life care.
There was a high response rate to the customer questionnaire and a high percentage of people thought the service had improved their quality of life.
People expressed a high level of satisfaction with the care provided. We were told that staff were punctual and supported them for the time allocated to them. They made the following comments 'The staff are very professional' and 'This agency goes to a lot of trouble to appoint the right staff. They are all so conscientious and diligent in what they do.'
We spoke with four staff who confirmed they had been safely recruited and given the right training with the agency. They also told us that they were well supported. They told us 'We have a lot of support. The manager is always available and happy to talk to you' and 'This is a very professional organisation.'
We confirmed that the service had an up to date medication policy in place and that all staff had medication training. This helped ensure people's health needs were safely supported.
We found that the Carefound service had robust quality assurance systems which ensured that they continually measured their performance and developed their service.
People told us that they were very happy with the care and support provided by Carefound, they made comments such as; 'The staff are always positive and friendly, they do everything I ask and they do it well.' 'The care is excellent; I can't find fault with anything they do' 'the staff and the manager are so polite and approachable I asked for a change in my schedule and it was sorted with 24 hours'. All the people we talked to were happy with staff from the agency.
We spoke with four staff who confirmed they had been safely recruited and given the right initial training with the agency. They also told us that they were well supported and had regular training to be safe and confident in their work; 'Training is always available and updated regularly; if we asked for any additional training we would be supported with this.' 'We have had additional training sessions to cover areas like dementia so that we can support people with a better understanding.'