New Dawn Care Agency Ltd

Updated 1 July 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience (ExE) is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service more than 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that a member of staff would be available to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 27 January 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the location’s office on 18 May 2022. We spoke with ten members of staff including; care staff, senior care staff, a deputy manager, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We viewed a range of records including three people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

The ExE made phone calls off-site on 19 May 2022 and spoke with nine people supported by the service and six people's relatives.

Updated 1 July 2022

About the service

New Dawn Care Agency Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to adults with physical disabilities, dementia, and sensory impairments. At the time of our inspection 24 people were receiving personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. In this service, the Care Quality Commission can only inspect the service received by people who get support with personal care. This includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive such support, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People told us they felt safe in their homes with the support staff provided.

Lessons had been learned from the previous inspection and medicines were now being safely managed by trained staff. Systems were in place to identify errors for swift action to be taken.

There were enough suitably trained staff who were recruited safely.

Management were keen to make further improvements for better outcomes for people, staff and the service. Management were open and honest; they understood their roles as well as how to manage risks and their regulatory responsibilities. People and staff had confidence in the registered manager.

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 worked in partnership with other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people.

The provider was proactive in its recruitment campaign and was promoting staff retention through engagement with various organisations and wellbeing initiatives.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (23 July 2019).

At our last inspection we found breaches of the regulations in relation to medicines not always being safely managed. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to tell us what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was now meeting this regulation.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.