- Homecare service
Chinite Home Care Darlington and Northeast
Assessment report published 8 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out our assessment of this service between 16 July and 6 August 2026. The assessment was carried out because the service had been registered for over 12 months and had not yet been assessed and rated.
Chinite Home Care Darlington and Northeast provide care to people living in their own home. They are registered to provide care to adults living with dementia, people with sensory impairment, physical disabilities, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, and mental health conditions.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is to help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the assessment there were 12 people receiving personal care.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence, and good access to local communities most people take for granted. At the time of the assessment, the service was not supporting any autistic people or people with a learning disability, but the provider had regard to ‘Right support, right care, right culture.’
The provider was committed to providing a non-discriminatory and inclusive approach within the service, both for people using the service and staff. They were committed to ensuring they met the needs and expectations of people, through a person-centred approach.
We identified some shortfalls in medicines management; however, there was no evidence that people had experienced harm as a result. The provider acknowledged our feedback in this area and gave assurances that improvements would be made.
There were some gaps in staff training, however the provider assured us this was something they were focused on improving. There was no indication this had impacted on the people being supported and feedback we received from relatives indicated training had recently improved.
The provider had governance and audit systems in place to ensure oversight of the service, but they had not identified the issues we found. The provider was reviewing the audit system to make it more robust.
The provider had a robust assessment process, which involved people, and where appropriate, their family members or advocates. Detailed and person-centred care plans were created to help guide staff when supporting people. Care plans included information on how to safely manage risk.
People’s needs were met by a consistent team of staff who had been safely recruited. People were given choice wherever possible and consent was obtained when staff were providing support. Where people lacked capacity to make informed decisions, best interest decisions were made and documented.
People’s needs were regularly reviewed, and staff liaised with other professionals to promote people’s health and well-being.
People's experience of this service
Many of the people using the service were unable to give feedback themselves and others did not wish to. We spoke with relatives of people who used the service and they described positive experiences of care that was person centred, kind and responsive to their loved ones’ needs. One relative told us that when required the provider had “…moved their time slot to accommodate my [family member], so I wanted to praise them and let CQC know that they’re brilliant. I felt that they prioritised [my family member] in that instance and it was a load off my mind.”
People received their care from a regular staff team who knew their needs well. A relative told us, “They’ve been more consistent with the same members of staff, it’s a steady and regular team now.” Another relative said, “Training has definitely gotten better and they are a lot more consistent with their calls and staff.”
Relatives told us they were involved in discussions about care and felt able to raise any issues with confidence. A relative told us, “They’ve included me in meetings about [my family member] and things are resolved in a timely manner, we’re kept up to date, and the staff can take feedback very well.”
Staff treated people with respect and maintained their dignity when providing their care. A relative told us, “They’re really nice and respectful.” Another relative said, “They’re all very nice, my [relative] loves them.”