We carried out a review of the data available to us about A Caring Company Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about A Caring Company Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
People’s experience of using this service: People were very positive about the care they received. People and their relatives told us that staff were kind and caring and that staff respected their preferences and their wishes.
People’s care plans were bespoke and personalised to meet their needs. People received care depending on their needs and preferences. People were supported to remain independent in their own homes and there was a culture of promoting this at the service.
People were kept safe from harm and abuse as systems used at the service identified and reduced any risks of harm to people.
Robust recruitment processes were followed when recruiting staff to ensure that they had the correct skills and character to work with people in their own homes.
People received thorough assessments of their needs to ensure that the service could support them. People and their relatives were extremely positive about this process and how involved they were in it.
The registered manager delivered all staff training and was passionate about promoting and empowering their staff. Staff were well-trained and knowledgeable in their job roles.
The registered manager and the staff team worked very well with other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people. People were complimentary about how the service knew them well and worked with other professionals to meet their needs.
People were supported with respect and dignity at the end of their lives and the service had received positive feedback from relatives of people who had been supported by the service at this time.
People and staff were very positive about the management of the service and felt able to feedback and contribute ideas.
The registered manager had a passion for providing high quality care and took their job role very seriously. The registered manager had instilled a culture of continuous improvement at the service.
The registered manager took pride in being very visible at the service and spent a lot of time working with people and staff to ensure that quality care was being provided by the service.
Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 22/06/2016).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. During this inspection we found evidence continued to support the rating of good. More information is in the full report.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
The inspection was announced and took place on 22 and 23 June 2016.
The service had a registered manager 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People felt safe with the support they received from staff and were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had a good awareness and understanding of how to identify abuse, and knew how to respond appropriately to any concerns that arose. People had risk assessments in place to enable them to be as independent as they could be and risks to their safety had been assessed so as to minimise the potential for reoccurrence.
There was sufficient numbers of staff on duty and we found that staff numbers were based upon the amount of care that people required. These were flexible and adaptable to ensure that people were kept safe. Robust recruitment procedures ensured that only staff who were considered suitable to support people worked within the service.
Medicines were managed safely. Systems were in place to ensure that people received their medication safely and in line with their prescriptions.
New staff received a robust induction which prepared them suitably for their role and assessed their competencies against essential standards. Staff also received a wide variety of training to help them carry out their roles and meet people’s needs. Regular supervision and annual appraisals, to further support and develop staff were also provided.
People were supported to make decisions about all aspects of their life; this process was further reinforced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Wherever possible, people were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. The registered manager had a good understanding about how the service was required to uphold the principles of the MCA.
People were supported to take an adequate dietary intake, based upon specific dietary needs, if this was an assessed part of their care package. On-going engagement with healthcare professionals took place when needed to ensure that prompt action was taken in response to any changes in people’s physical and mental health.
People were very happy with the care and support they received from staff. They felt that staff treated them with kindness and compassion, in a friendly and caring manner. The delivery of care was based upon people’s individual needs and enabled them to have an active voice in the decision making process. Staff were also very knowledgeable about the specific needs of the people they supported and used this information to ensure that people received person centred care. Privacy and dignity was maintained at all times.
People's needs were assessed prior to them being provided with care and support. This process helped to ensure that their needs could be met by the service. Care plans were person centred and written in a way which described people's individual care needs with clarity, They were updated on a regular basis, or as and when people's care needs changed so that they remained reflective of people’s current requirements.
People knew how to make a complaint and were confident that the service would listen to them if they made one. Where action was required to be taken to address complaints, we found that lessons were learnt from this to drive future improvement and to improve the delivery of service to people.
There was an open culture at the service. People were positive about the care they received and were happy with the staff they saw. Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and were motivated to perform them well and meet people's needs. People and staff were positive about the leadership at the service. They felt well supported and were able to approach the registered manager and team leaders whenever they needed to. There were management systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care being provided and to identify areas for development.
We saw that people's needs had been assessed, and appropriate support plans and risk assessments were in place. We found people's support plans were reviewed regularly and when people's needs changed. Their consent was sought prior to any care or treatment being delivered.
The provider had effective staff recruitment processes in place and had sufficient staff. Staff were supported to acquire additional training in order to effectively meet people's individual needs.
We found the provider had effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service they provided.
We reviewed the care records for five people currently receiving care and saw that they were offered support at a level which encouraged independence and ensured that specific, individual needs were met. People told us that staff were always friendly and respectful of their needs. One relative told us, "They do what they should and we feel safe in their care."
People said that they felt able to approach all members of staff if they had issues or concerns and were confident that any matter would be resolved in a timely manner.