Network Live in Care Ltd

Updated 16 July 2022

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

A single inspector carried out this inspection. They were supported by 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 care service.

Service and service type

This service is a live-in domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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 29 June and ended on 4 July 2022. We visited the location’s office on 29 June 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people and five relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff, the registered manager and the branch manager. We reviewed a range of records. These included four people's care records and medication records. We looked at staff records in relation to recruitment, training, supervision and other records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance records. We sought feedback from two health professionals.

Updated 16 July 2022

About the service

Network Live in Care Ltd is a live-in care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.

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 told us they felt safe using the service. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. Comments included, “They are absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t wish for anybody better, I feel safe.” There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People and their relatives told us they agreed the length of live in periods with the provider. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence.

People's needs were assessed, and care plans were in place. People were cared for by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles and who were knowledgeable about the support people needed. People were supported to have maximum 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.

People told us they were cared for by kind and compassionate staff. Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity. Comments from people included, “They [staff] are very caring, kind and considerate. We are very pleased with the service. We had been concerned about having a live-in carer, but it was the right decision.”

Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they were cared for. Comments from people included, “I have a care plan and they [staff] meet my needs.” There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.

There were robust quality assurance processes in place with oversight at provider level. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager and the management team and said the provider was a good company to work for. Staff comments included, “For me, it was most important that the information the manager gave me before I started at the person’s house, was accurate and the communication was very good. When I arrived at the placement, it was exactly as I was told” and, “They [management team] treat me well, I feel respected.”

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 23 November 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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