WeCARE Ltd

WeCare Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity of personal care to people. The service provides support to older people and younger adults. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using the 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.

The service is registered to be at the address Office 205, Business & Technology Centre

Shire Hill, Saffron Walden, CB11 3AQ. Information we received prior to the inspection informed us the service had moved to Waterloo House High Street, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex, England, CB11 3PG. This location is not part of the provider’s condition of registration. We are therefore considering our next enforcement action for this different location. Our inspection occurred at this Waterloo House High Street address, to ensure people were being supported safely.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider's governance arrangements did not provide assurance the service was well led. We were not assured the systems and processes to oversee the quality assurance of the service were robust and effective, as they had not identified the shortfalls we found during our inspection and regulatory requirements were not always being met.

Recruitment processes were in place. We found staff competency checks, supervisions and appraisals had not been undertaken regularly in line with the provider's own policies and procedures. People’s medicines were not always administered by trained staff. We have made a recommendation about staff training and the safe management of medicines

People told us they received their care calls on time and staff stayed for the duration of the scheduled call time. However, people were not always notified if staff were running late.

Risks to people had been identified, assessed, and reviewed. However, for people who were prescribed anticoagulant medicine (to help prevent blood clots) there was no risk assessment or guidance for staff in the event of an incident or accident.

Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm. People told us they felt safe when staff were providing care. Staff had received training in Infection prevention control. Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and people and relatives told us staff wore their PPE when providing care and support.

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.

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 25 July 2018)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staffing, governance and change of location address. 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.

We have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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

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.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 were protected from harm and abuse through the knowledge of staff and management. Risks to people's safety were identified, assessed and appropriate action was taken to keep people safe. The service did not currently support anyone that needed help to administer their medicines.

There were always sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Staff underwent relevant pre-employment checks that assured they were suitable to care for people made vulnerable by circumstances in their own homes.

Staff were supported to have the skills and knowledge to carry out their role. They had received an induction before they could provide care to people. This was followed by regular training and support. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink. Their care plans contained information about food and drink. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People received personalised care from staff who knew their needs and preferences. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. There were arrangements in place to respond to concerns or complaints.

People were complimentary about the caring approach of staff describing them as kind, helpful and respectful. People said their dignity and privacy was protected when receiving care. People were encouraged to express their views about the care they received and felt they were listened to.

The registered manager was highly visible and regularly went to see people. The registered manager provided clear and direct leadership to staff who had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There were systems to assess, monitor all aspects of the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below