Loving Care Domiciliary Services Limited

Updated 14 December 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: This inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of 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.

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 visit because it is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager and other senior staff would be available to speak with us. We also needed to ensure that people’s consent was gained for us to contact and visit them for feedback about the service.

What we did before the inspection: We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is legally required to tell us about. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection: We spoke with four people who received personal care from the service and seven people’s relatives. We also visited a further three people in their own homes. We also spoke with three members of staff. This included both providers, one of which was the registered manager and the deputy manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included some people’s care records and medication records. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service such as incident and accident records, meeting minutes, training records, policies and audits.

After the inspection: We received clarification from the providers to validate evidence found. We contacted four members of staff and three healthcare professionals who have had contact with the service to gain their views. We received feedback from all four staff and one professional.

Updated 14 December 2019

About the service: Loving Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes in Surrey. At the time of the inspection, 32 people were receiving personal care regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

People’s experience of using this service and what we found: The service had systems to ensure risks were managed meaning people and staff were kept safe. People and their relatives told us they felt safe and spoke positively about the staff. People said their medicines were managed well and that staff were punctual for care appointments.

People received effective care from a well trained and supported staff team. There were systems to monitor staff performance through supervision. People told us that where needed, they were supported by staff to eat and drink.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs and preferences. People were supported to have 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.

Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s abilities and promoting independence. The service management and staff had built positive caring relationships with people and their families. The service aimed to achieve the best possible outcomes for people.

Care plans were person-centred. There was information about the level of support people required according to their assessed needs and preferences. There were systems to review care records and people felt involved in their care. People supported by the service told us they were treated with respect by caring staff. Feedback from people, their relatives and a healthcare professional we contacted was positive.

Staff spoke positively about their employment. There were systems being developed to allow staff to have opportunities to raise suggestions and be involved in the development of the service. The service worked in partnership with other healthcare professionals to ensure people received care that met their needs.

The service management used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included observations within people’s homes, auditing and surveys.

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 October 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will inspect in line with our inspection programme or sooner if required.