During an assessment under our new approach
Date of assessment: 25 April 2026– 18 May 2026. Unique Domiciliary Care Limited is a homecare agency mainly supporting older people with physical disabilities with some people living with dementia as well as those with learning disabilities. At the time of our assessment there were 4 people using the service. This was our first assessment of this service.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. At the time of the assessment, the service was not supporting any autistic people or people with a learning disability, but the provider had regard to underpinning principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. Staff had undertaken relevant training. Suitable policies and procedures were in place.
However, records did not always fully reflect the care and oversight in place. Risk assessments and environmental assessments did not contain enough detail about what had been assessed, and care plans were brief in some areas, which meant people’s individual needs were not always clearly recorded. Records of staff supervision and appraisals also lacked full detail, and original emails for references were not available to verify authenticity. Although we saw no evidence these recording shortfalls had negatively affected people, the registered manager acknowledged these issues and told us they were reviewing care plans, risk assessments and oversight records to ensure they included all necessary information. The provider had a clear vision for the service, staff and relatives spoke positively about the manager, and there was an open culture in which people and staff felt able to raise concerns.
People received care from a small staff team who knew them well and supported them in a kind, responsive and person-centred way. People and relatives gave positive feedback about the service.
One relative described how support had made a significant difference to their family member’s wellbeing and activity levels, and relatives told us staff responded well to changes in people’s needs and treated people with dignity and respect. There were enough suitably skilled staff to meet people’s needs, staff felt supported, and there were clear procedures for safeguarding, infection prevention and control, and medicines. Incident processes were in place, and the provider had systems to review care and learn when things went wrong.
We identified breaches of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.