Crown Medical Services Limited

Updated 10 January 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 13 December 2019 and ended on 19 December 2019. This included a visit to the office location and telephone calls to people using the service and their relatives.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We sought feedback from five professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection

During the inspection-

We spoke with four people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We looked at the care records for four people using the service, medicines administration records and audits. We also looked at the staff recruitment and training files for three members of staff and other records used by the provider for managing the service. We met the registered manager and the operations manager. We spoke with another three members of staff.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 10 January 2020

About the service

Crown Medical Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 14 people received personal care from the agency.

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 receiving a service told us they felt safe and relatives believed their family members were kept safe. They said they had not had any missed calls, and usually received care from staff they knew well.

There were procedures which made sure the staff who were recruited were suitable and had the training and information they needed to provide effective care. The registered manager regularly met with the staff and observed them carrying out their duties.

People and their relatives told us they felt cared for by staff who treated them with respect and dignity. People were encouraged to maintain relationships and keep their independence for as long as possible.

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.

There were quality assurance and auditing processes in place and they contributed to service Improvements and plans were in place to strengthen this further. The registered manager provided clear and direct leadership to staff who had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 21/12/2018 and this is the first inspection.

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.