Gabriel's Angels Ltd

Gabriel’s Angels Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people. People with various care needs can use this service including people with physical disabilities, older people, younger adults, sensory impairments and people with dementia. At the time of inspection, 80 people received personal care from this service.

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

We have made a recommendation for the provider to review their recruitment processes. The service had ensured that medicines were given to people safely. People’s risks assessments were clearly written and easy to follow, meaning that people were less likely to suffer harm. People and staff knew how to raise safeguarding concerns. People felt there were enough staff to provide care and felt safe when staff visited them.

Staff worked well with people, families and health and social care agencies to support people’s wellbeing. There was a positive culture amongst staff at the service. Staff knew people they supported well and cared about their wellbeing. The provider was able to demonstrate any learning from incidents or accidents was undertaken effectively.

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 18 October 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the recruitment of staff. 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 remained the same.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe section of this full report.

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

Recommendations

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.

Follow up

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

Gabriel’s Angels is a home care service providing personal and nursing care to 60 people aged 18 and over at the time of the inspection.

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

People received support from exceptionally caring staff. Staff knew people extremely well, were highly attentive to people’s needs and had developed caring bonds with them over long periods of time. Staff often went ‘the extra mile’ to ensure people received highly personalised care and support. Staff upheld people’s privacy and dignity and worked with people to improve their independence and supported them to stay in their own homes.

People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse by trained, competent staff. People received care from the same members of staff at regular times. There were enough staff to support people and meet their needs. Medicines were managed safely.

People were supported by skilled staff with the right knowledge and training.

People's care and support met their needs and reflected their preferences. Staff upheld people's human rights. People received personalised care and support at the end of their lives to enable them to have a dignified death. Staff acted as advocates for people to ensure they received timely care and pain relief at the end of their lives.

There were clear, robust processes for managing quality and safety in the service. There was strong leadership in the service and a positive, empowering culture. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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 9 March 2017). At this inspection the service was rated good.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Gabriel’s Angels is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to 60 people living in their own homes. A registered manager was in post. 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. This was the first inspection of the service at its current address.

People were very happy with the care and support provided by the care staff although some felt the office administration could be improved. People felt safe and that staff knew them well. They felt staff respected their dignity and sought consent before providing support.

People were kept safe by staff who understood how to recognise the signs of abuse and how to report them. Any concerns that had arisen were reported to the local authority safeguarding team.

Staff were provided with detailed and up to date care plans and other information to enable them to deliver personalised care to people. People’s care plans had been devised and were regularly reviewed with them or their representatives.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible, the policies and systems in the service supported this practice .

A robust recruitment system ensured, as far as possible, the service recruited appropriate staff. Staff received a thorough induction and regular training to equip them to perform effectively and received regular ongoing support through supervision and appraisal.

The management had effective systems to monitor care practice and seek people’s views about the service. Surveys were carried out and complaints were addressed appropriately. Plans were in place for the future development of the service.