Archived: I-Care

I-Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 52 people at the time of the inspection, 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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People’s care needs and wishes were assessed prior to care packages being arranged. Each person had a care plan in place around their support and how they would like this to be delivered. Their care plans were reviewed regularly and people were supported to share their feedback about their care.

People told us care staff supported them to feel safe and were respectful of their home. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and risk reducing measures were documented in their care plans for staff to follow. Care staff had been appointed following safe recruitment processes. Staff competencies were monitored through spot-checks, supervisions and team meetings.

People were supported to have choice and control of their care 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 care staff were praised by people and their relatives for having a kind and caring approach. We were told staff promoted their dignity and respected their privacy, particularly during personal care.

Where people had support with preparation of food and drinks, they told us they were happy with what the staff prepared for them.

People and their relatives were invited to share their feedback in regular review meetings, or through annual surveys. Complaints were investigated thoroughly and referred to the local authority safeguarding team when needed. Findings from complaints and outcomes of managerial audits were used to make improvements at the service.

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

This service was re-registered with us on 7 October 2018 and this is the first inspection under the current registration.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 January 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service had changed and the service had moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered with us.

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.