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Blue Crystal Care Agency

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

42 Parkthorne Drive, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA2 7BU (020) 3770 3601

Provided and run by:
Ms Lathangi Kathirkamathamby

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Background to this inspection

Updated 16 November 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social 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 visit took place on 19 October 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people who lived in their own home. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affected the health, safety and

welfare of people the service supported.

During our inspection we spoke with one person who used the service, one relative, two care workers and the registered manager.

We looked at the care records for two people receiving personal care, recruitment records of three staff members, the training matrix and records relating to the management of the service.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 16 November 2017

This inspection took place on 19 October 2017 and was announced.

Blue Crystal Care Agency is a small domiciliary care service, which provides care in people’s homes. The service provided personal care support to two people and had three care workers employed. At the time of our visit the provider also acted in the role of the registered manager. 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.

At the last inspection on 3 December 2015, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The provider had appropriate systems to record safeguarding concerns, incidents and accidents and appropriate actions were taken when required. Risk management plans were in place and had been reviewed to ensure risk to people who used the service was minimised. The provider followed safe recruitment practices and care workers had been checked appropriately prior to working with people who used the service. Staff had received training in the safe administration of medicines and people were supported when required in taking their medicines.

Care workers had been appropriately trained and supported. They had skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did support them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service did support this practice. All people who used the service had capacity to make their own decisions. Where required people were supported to have a nutritious food and fluid intake.

People told us care workers were caring towards them. Care workers we spoke with understood the importance of high standards of care to give people meaningful lives. People told us the staff who visited them treated them with respect and dignity.

Care was planned effectively and people, their relative and their designated care worker were involved in this process. People who used the service and their relatives knew how to raise a concern or to make a complaint. The service had not received any complaints since our last inspection.

The service used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular spot checks by the registered manager, weekly phone calls carried out by the registered manager, regular care plan reviews as well as visits by the registered manager to provide personal care if regular care workers were on holiday. Where people had raised concerns about their visits these had been listened to and addressed appropriately. The registered manager and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and were committed to providing a good standard of care and support to people in their care.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.