Heartfelt Care

Updated 3 March 2023

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 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people and their relatives. An Expert by Experience 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The provider was in the process of applying for the registered manager position.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 17 January 2023 and ended on 27 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 24 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who use the service and 2 relatives about the service. We spoke with 6 staff members including the provider. We received feedback from 2 professionals who work with the service. We reviewed a range of records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. We looked at 3 people's care records. We reviewed a range of policies and training data.

Updated 3 March 2023

About the service

Heartfelt Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection they were providing a personal care service to 15 people.

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

Not all risks to people had been assessed. People had care plans in place, these did not include detailed information to guide staff on how to provide care and support. Staff however knew people well.

Medicines were not always managed safely. There was no formal system for reporting and recording incidents and accidents. We found some shortfalls in the recruitment of staff.

Staff had not always received refresher training to equip them to support people, understand their individual needs and mitigate associated risks.

The provider had not operated effective systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services.

We found no evidence that people were harmed but these shortfalls put them at increased risk. We discussed these concerns with the provider who was responsive to feedback and started making changes to how the care was monitored and organised to improve it for people.

There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. People felt safe, staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. People were supported in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were well treated and supported. Staff understood people’s needs and preferences well and people received consistent care. Staff respected and promoted people's privacy and dignity and supported them to be as independent as possible. People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring.

People and their relatives felt listened to and commented positively about the management of the service. Staff felt supported and received supervision.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 02 December 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Enforcement and recommendation

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care and good governance. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We made a recommendation about staff training.

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.