Updated 20 October 2025
Date of Assessment: 20 October to 13 November 2025.
Care Specialist Services Limited is a home care service providing support to older people in their homes. At the time of our assessment, there were 2 people using the service. The service registered with the Care Quality Commission on the 19 July 2022. We carried out this assessment to provide the service with their first overall rating. The assessment was carried out remotely by requesting records from the provider, speaking to the registered manager and people and gaining feedback from the staff. We looked at all the 33 quality statements in safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. At this assessment we found 3 breaches of the legal regulations, in relation to risk management, medicines management and good governance. The overall rating for the service requires improvement. We will be asking the provider to submit an action plan on how they will make improvements to the care and support provided to people.
We found medicines records needed improvement; the list of people’s prescribed medicines was not recorded within people’s support plans. Although both people self-administered their medicines, the staff applied creams to people. Body maps lacked information about the creams and were not being signed for by staff.
Risks to people had not always been assessed in relation to people’s health needs and the effects from prescribed medicines. Some risk assessments contained limited information in relation to the care and support they required, and further information was needed, to help prevent people from harm and injury.
Improvements were needed to make people’s support plans person centred. Although these were in place, they lacked information about people’s likes, dislikes, history and life goals. Assessments were carried out before people started with the service, however improvements were needed, to enhance the information known about each person.
The provider's governance systems were not always effective in monitoring and improving the quality of the service. Audits lacked essential information, and action was not always taken to sufficiently assess and address shortfalls.
The provider had systems in place to monitor the visit times of people. Staff had been safely recruited with the appropriate pre-employment checks carried out.