We carried out a review of the data available to us about Caring Companions 4 U LTD 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 Caring Companions 4 U LTD, you can give feedback on this service.
Caring Companions is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people in their own homes.
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 our inspection 18, mainly older people, were being supported with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives felt the service was safe. The service was impacted by low staffing levels and the management team had been supporting with care calls to ensure people got the care and support they needed. Risks to people were managed effectively and people were safeguarded from the risk abuse. People’s medicines were managed safely and people were protected from the risk of infection. Staff were recruited safely.
New staff completed inductions and shadowing to support people effectively. People had full assessments of their care needs in place and this information was readily available. People told us they were supported to eat and drink. The service worked with other agencies to provide effective care for people.
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.
The service put people and their care first. People told us they received person-centred care. The service was recruiting more staff to reduce staffing pressures. Staff received training and refresher training to ensure the best support for people. The service involved people and their relatives in their care. The service learned from incidents to improve outcomes for people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 21 August 2019) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 26 and 27 June 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found in safe care and treatment and good governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Caring Companions on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Caring Companions is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes.
Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of our inspection 31 mainly older people were being supported with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were at risk of receiving unsafe or ineffective care. The provider had not safely recruited new staff or made sure they had completed appropriate training to safely meet people’s needs. Care plans and risk assessments did not contain enough information about risks and how these should be managed.
The provider did not have a training plan in place and did not always keep detailed records about how they had inducted new staff, assessed their competency or related to the management of the service.
Staff had not been trained in infection prevention and control, and did not use aprons to minimise the risk of spreading germs. There was not enough information recorded to support and guide staff to safely administer people’s medicines.
People gave very positive feedback about the quality of the care they received, but these shortfalls in the provider’s management of the service put people at risk of harm. Although open to feedback and committed to developing the service, management were still developing their knowledge of the regulatory requirements and good practice guidance.
We made a recommendation about following good practice guidance in relation to end of life care.
People shared very caring relationships with the kind and respectful staff who supported them. Staff listened to people, understood what was important to them and provided person-centred care to meet their needs. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained.
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. Staff supported people to make sure they ate and drank enough, and to access healthcare services if needed.
People felt able to complain about the service; they had the information they would need to raise concerns and told us the management was approachable and responsive to them.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC’s website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 17 May 2018 and this was the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on when the service was registered.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches of regulation in relation to the safety of the care provided and the governance of the service. 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 for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.