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Archived: Care2Connect

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

54-56 South Street, Tarring, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 7LS 0800 326 5522

Provided and run by:
Care2Connect Ltd

All Inspections

29 March 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Care2Connect is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 120 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

The service was not always safe and well led. The provider did not have robust systems for people to share feedback or raise concerns. People did not always experience responses to concerns they raised.

People and their relatives did not always find the service to be well organised. Rosters had been planned one day in advance so people and their relatives were left unclear about how care calls would be fulfilled.

Communication about changes to the organisation and care calls was not always timely. Late and missed calls were not always notified to people, leaving them concerned about whether they would receive a call.

People felt safe with care staff and appreciated their friendly, respectful approach to support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 04 June 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to a period of insufficient staffing leading to the involvement of the local authority to support the delivery of people’s care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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 good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

Following our inspection the provider took steps to review their processes to identify areas for improvement.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Care2Connect on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We identified a breach of Regulation 16 (Receiving and acting on complaints) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.

8 May 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service: Care2Connect is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting 140 adults with a range of health and social care needs. Support was tailored according to people's needs to help them to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes. Not everyone using Care2Connect was receiving regulated activities; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received safe care from confident, polite and well-trained staff and were very happy with the service they received. Everyone we spoke with spoke highly of the staff and their caring attitudes and professionalism. People told us that they liked the staff and that staff were always cheerful and happy to help. One person told us, “I have the same person and we get on very well, we have a little chat before they leave.”

People felt safe and relatives told us that knowing the care staff were visiting brought them peace of mind so that they no longer worried about people when they couldn’t be there. One person said, "It’s definitely safe.” and a relative told us, “I have no worries about the safety [of my relative].”

Personalised care was planned with the registered manager and the care plans created with input from people and relatives. Care plans were reviewed regularly. Staff used the care plans for routine care information and also background information to help them understand the person they were caring for.

People felt independent as they were able to remain in their own homes. The care they received followed the care plans that had been agreed but was flexible enough that people had choice about their lives.

Care was delivered in a timely manner, and where staff arrived late, for example due to traffic or a longer than normal stay at a previous call, the staff always stayed the full time allocated, contacting the office to ensure people could be told about the delays.

People told us they were listened to and could ring the registered manager to request changes to their care. Where people had cause to complain the registered manager acted promptly to solve the issue.

Staff were confident in their roles and had clear policies to follow, one staff member told us, “Everything here is in black and white, so you don’t make mistakes.” The registered manager was very supportive of the staff.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Good. The last inspection took place 14 March 2017

Why we inspected: we carried out this inspection as a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

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

14 March 2017

During a routine inspection

Care2Connect is a domiciliary care agency, registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection they were providing a service to 210 people.

At the last inspection carried out in January 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We carried out this inspection as part of our routine schedule of inspections and to check that people were still receiving a good standard of care and support. The inspection took place on 14 March 2017. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure someone would be in the office.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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.

People told us they felt safe with staff. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of people. They knew who they would speak to if they had concerns. The service followed the West Sussex safeguarding procedure, which was available to staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in reporting any suspicion of abuse.

People were protected from risks to their health and wellbeing. Up to date plans were in place to manage risks, without unduly restricting people’s independence. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and safe recruitment practices were followed. Medicines were managed safely.

People and their relatives told us that people were treated with respect and their privacy was promoted. Staff were caring and responsive to the needs of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way.

Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs safely and to a good standard. They felt the support received helped them to do their jobs well.

People benefited from receiving a service from staff who worked well together as a team. Staff were confident they could take any concerns to the management and these would be taken seriously. People and their relatives were aware of how to raise a concern and were confident appropriate action would be taken.

People and their relatives were empowered to contribute to improve the service. They had opportunities to feedback their views about the service and quality of the care they had received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

27 January 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on the 27 January 2015 and was announced. Forty eight hours notice of the inspection was given to ensure that the people we needed to speak to were available

Care2Connect is a domicillary care service which provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 140 people were receiving a personal care service.

The service had a 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.

The experiences of people were positive. People told us staff were kind and the care they received was good.

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s support needs and care plans were developed outlining how these needs were to be met. We found care plans to be detailed for care staff to understand. People told us they were involved in the care plans and were consulted about their care to ensure wishes and preferences were met. Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to obtain specialist advice about people’s care and treatment. Links with healthcare professionals were developed and maintained; healthcare professionals stated the staff followed their advice and delivered care according to their instructions.

The service considered peoples capacity in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

The provider was in the process of updating their MCA training at the time of our inspection to reflect any updates and changes.

There was an open and transparent culture at the service. The provider sought feedback from staff and people who used the service. Staff received regular support and advice from their manager via phone calls and meetings in the office. Staff were given regular training updates, supervision and development opportunities.

A staff quality survey was undertaken in July 2014, this also included group meetings with the staff for an opportunity to discuss any concerns or improvements they felt was needed. The service had also used an external consultant to interview staff and establish their views on working for the service and areas for improvements. Staff told us they found this to be beneficial

The service had a caring approach. People were involved in their care plans and making decisions about how they would like to be supported. Staff were caring and knowledgeable.

25 October 2013

During a routine inspection

We telephoned the agency 48 hours prior to our visit to inform them of the inspection. This is part of the inspection process for domiciliary care agencies. We visited two people in their homes and spoke with two more people by phone. We also spoke with one relative in their home and two others by phone. We spoke with the managing director, the manager and five staff members. We looked at four sets of care records.

People or their relatives told us that they had been fully informed about the service before accepting it and then had been involved in making choices and decisions about their care. They said they were happy with the care and felt listened to by caring staff who acted quickly to meet any change in their needs. We observed that staff were friendly, polite and respectful in their approach and encouraged people to be as independent as possible. We looked at a selection of written comments. One relative had written 'Just a note to say a huge thank you for all the care you gave my beloved relative. Everyone of you showed them so much care and gave them their dignity which I forever will be grateful for'.

People were supported to receive their medicines safely and as prescribed.

The service had an effective staff recruitment and selection process in place and staff were appropriately trained to deliver care and treatment safely.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service and the provider acted on any concerns or complaints they received.

25 January 2013

During a routine inspection

We spent a day at the office location, reviewing records and processes, interviewing managers and care staff and reviewing care records. We also carried out telephone interviews with service users and their relatives. People told us they were given information about the agency, and staff had explained the various choices available to them. People said they were involved in decisions about their care and support, and that staff promoted their independence, dignity and privacy.

People told us they were aware of their plans of care and support that took account of their needs and wishes, as these plans had been developed with their input.

People told us they felt safe, and that staff had carried out assessments of any areas of risk. We found that staff were aware of safeguarding issues relevant to their role and had been trained in safeguarding adults.

Service user told use they were very happy with the staff who support them. Staff said they felt well supported by the manager of the agency.

Care2Connect carried out regular surveys and questionnaires with service users, relatives and other stakeholders, and had a range of other quality assurance systems in place to monitor and develop the services being provided in line with the identified needs and wishes of people using the service.