Archived: Care Rangers Limited

Updated 1 March 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 and 24 January 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides care to people living in their own homes and we wanted to make sure staff would be available to speak with us.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. We checked to see what notifications had been received from the provider. Providers are required to inform the CQC of important events which happen within the service. We did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) before our inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted one health and social care professional in December 2016 for their views on the service provided but we did not receive a response to our request.

We used a variety of methods to inspect the service. We looked at the provider's records. These included seven people's care records, two staff files, a sample of audits, staff attendance rosters, and policies and procedures. We spoke with the registered manager, senior care worker and one member of care staff. We visited and spoke with four people in their own homes and two relatives to obtain feedback on the delivery of their care and to view care records held at people’s homes. We also telephoned and spoke with two people receiving care.

Since our previous inspection the number of care staff employed had decreased from nine to two and the number of people being provided with care had decreased from 38 to seven.

We last inspected the service in January 2016 when we identified breaches in relation to Regulation 9, 11, 12, 17 and 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Following our inspection the provider sent us an action plan detailing the improvements they would make. These actions have now been completed. We also issued a warning notice in respect of a breach in regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We revisited the service in August 2016 and the provider had met the conditions of the warning notice.

Updated 1 March 2017

The inspection took place on the 23 and 24 January 2017 and was announced.

Care Rangers is a domiciliary care service providing a range of services including personal care for people in their own homes. They provided 49 hours of care to seven people at the time of our inspection. Care was delivered by the registered manager and two care workers. The service provided support to both older and younger people with diverse needs. For example, people who may be living with dementia, physical disabilities and learning disabilities.

The service had a registered manager who was also the owner / 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.

Relatives of people told us the service was safe and they were confident in the staff that provided care and support to people.

People were safe because staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep them safe from harm.

Staff had a good knowledge of the provider's whistleblowing policy and procedures which meant they were able to raise concerns to protect people from unsafe care.

Recruitment processes were in place to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff.

People were supported by staff who received regular training, support and supervision to help them provide effective care.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and their responsibilities to ensure that people who were unable to make their own decisions about their care and support were protected.

People and relatives had good relationships with the staff and were treated with dignity and respect.

The registered manager had failed to ensure incidents of possible abuse were reported to The Care Quality Commission.

We identified one breach of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.