22 September 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Clarity Homecare Ealing provides personal care for people living in their own homes in
the community. The majority of people funded their care privately. At the time of our inspection, there were 14 people using this service. 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
The provider had systems in place to monitor, manage and improve service delivery, however these were not always effective. During the inspection we found staff were not always punctual to their home visits and this had not been addressed.
We also identified administration of a prescription cream was not being recorded appropriately. We recommended the provider consider current guidance on giving people topical medicines and take action to update their practice accordingly.
People were satisfied with the care from care workers and felt safe. There were risk assessments and mitigation plans in place. The provider followed safe recruitment practices to help ensure suitable people were employed. Staff received appropriate training to meet people's care needs.
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.
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 the service at the previous premises was good, published on 4 March 2021.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
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 good to requires improvement. 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 Clarity Homecare Ealing on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to good governance at this inspection.
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 from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.