ASK Care Limited

Updated 14 February 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 one inspector and two 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 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.

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. A manager had been appointed and the provider told us it was their intention that the manager would apply to register with the Care Quality Commission before the end of March 2023.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider manager would be in the office 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 who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who used the service and 19 relatives. We spoke with 8 staff; the manager, care coordinator, five care assistants and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We looked at 12 sets of care records and multiple medicines records. We reviewed a number of records relating to the management of the service, including a selection of policies and procedures.

Updated 14 February 2023

About the service

ASK Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity of personal care. The service provides support to younger and older adults and children. At the time of our inspection, there were 145 people using the service, but only 104 of those received support with 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

People and relatives we spoke with gave very positive feedback. This was summed up by a relative who told us, “I would give them a 10/10. We’ve been with them a long time. They communicate well, they know [person] and we have a really good relationship."

Systems were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Risk assessments were in place which set out the risks people faced and included information about how to mitigate those risks. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and robust staff recruitment practices were in place. Steps had been taken to help prevent the spread of infections. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to help prevent their re-occurrence. medicines were managed in a safe way.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. There was an open and positive culture at the service, which meant people, relatives and staff could express their views. The provider worked with other agencies to develop best practice and share knowledge.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 15 January 2021).

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 11 December 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found in relation to Regulation 12 (Safe Care & Treatment), Regulation 18 (Staffing) and Regulation 17 (Good Governance) The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led, which contain those requirements. At this inspection we found the provider was no longer breach of regulations.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for ASK Care Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

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