We carried out a review of the data available to us about Quality Home Care UK Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Quality Home Care UK Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Quality Home Care UK Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. They provide personal care support to people living 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. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 27 people with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We found there was not always staff guidance in place for the use of ‘as needed’ medicines. There was also no guidance in place for where to apply creams to people. While staff had good knowledge, this record keeping concern meant staff did not always have written guidance to support them. Otherwise, medicines were managed safely.
People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. This is because assessments had not been made on their ability to make decisions. The systems in the service did not support this practice.
People felt safe using the service. Staff were aware of how to keep people safe and had received thorough training. A clear governance system ensured that incidents that were responded to appropriately. There were enough staff to support people, and these staff followed safe infection control procedures.
Records were kept on people’s physical, mental and social needs. These followed expected standards and provided sufficient guidance to staff. This enabled people to receive safe care that followed their preferences. People reported being able to feedback into their care planning and make suggestions or complaints.
People were supported to eat meals of their choice. Where people required external health and social care support, then staff recorded recommendations and followed them.
People reported receiving a high-quality service, from staff that were caring in their approach. This caring ethos resulted in person centred care that met people’s needs. Where concerns were raised during inspection, the registered manager was quick to try to resolve them. We found the service was well led.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 November 2016).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
Quality Home Care UK Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care for older people in their own homes across Derby. This included people with physical disabilities and people living with dementia. The agency is located in the Alvaston area of Derby. The service was providing support to 25 people with personal care.
There was a registered manager in post; they were also the service provider. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they felt safe with the care provided by staff. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibility in protecting people from the risk of harm. Recruitment procedures ensured suitable staff were employed to work with people who used the service. Staff told us they had received training and an induction that had helped them to understand and support people better.
Risk assessments and care plans had been developed with the involvement of people. Staff had the relevant information on how to minimise identified risks to ensure people were supported in a safe way. People received their medicines as prescribed and safe systems were in place to manage people’s medicines.
The provider understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff supported people to make their own decisions
People received appropriate support to manage their dietary needs. This was done in a way that met with their needs and choices. People were referred to health professionals when required to maintain their health and wellbeing.
People told us staff treated them in a caring way and respected their privacy. Staff supported people to maintain their dignity. The delivery of care was tailored to meet people’s individual needs and preferences.
The provider’s complaints policy and procedure were accessible to people who used the service and their representatives. People knew how to make a complaint.
There were processes in place for people and their relatives to express their views and opinions about the service provided. We found the comments expressed within the questionnaires had been acted upon, which had included updating information about the service to include the types of support which was available. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to enable the manager and provider to drive improvement. Staff felt supported by the management team. The leadership and management of the service and its governance systems ensured consistency in the care being provided.
People using the service and family members we spoke with were extremely complimentary about the care and support provided by the service.
Care records we looked at showed that people's needs were assessed, and support plans were in place.
Staff told us that they felt confident in supporting people with their medication. They told us that they had received appropriate guidance in the safe administration of medication.
People using the service and family members we spoke with raised no concerns about the number of staff available to support people. Comments from people using the service included 'There are no issues with staffing, the care provided exceeds all expectations,' and 'The staff appear to be competent, they understand your needs really well.'
The provider had effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive, and to identify and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others.