During an assessment under our new approach
Constant Healthcare Limited is a care at home service providing personal care to older people. At the time of this assessment 81 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
This service provides care and support to people who are living in their own homes,
some of whom may be living with Dementia or have a mental health need.
We carried out this assessment between 11 and 14 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. This can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). When people receive care and treatment in their own homes an application must be made to the Court of Protection for them to authorise people to be deprived of their liberty. At the time of assessment, no one was deprived of their liberty or had any restrictions placed on them.
Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and told us about requesting consent from people before delivering care.
People received support from staff who understand their individual needs and supported them to remain as independent as possible within their own homes.
Care plans and risk assessments were thoroughly completed, person-centred and included detailed information about people’s lives, health conditions, preferences, environ mental risks and support needs. Care plans contained SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) which is a nationally recognised approach to effective goal setting. This supported people and the service to create clear, achievable goals which encouraged people to remain as independent as possible whilst improving their health and well-being.
Accurate daily visit records were logged onto the service’s system which evidenced people received personalised and responsive support with personal care, medicines, nutrition and emotional wellbeing.
Staff monitored changes in people’s health and involved other services and relatives where appropriate.
The service had a robust recruitment process in place to ensure staff were recruited safely. Staff received thorough inductions, training and regular spot checks to ensure they were competent to deliver safe care. Staff told us there were enough trained staff deployed to meet people’s needs, and they were offered additional hours or shifts if the service required unexpected cover.
Staff spoke positively about the service and the personalised care provided. A staff member said, “I have built relationships with the people I care for; they really look forward to seeing me”. Staff generally told us managers were approachable and supportive. They felt able to raise concerns and believed people were safe when receiving care. A staff member said, “The service looks after us. I’m very happy here”.
Staff received safeguarding training, could identify the different types of abuse and knew how to escalate any concerns. We found evidence of safeguarding referrals being made to the local authority; however, on 2 occasions a statutory notification had not been submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This was discussed with the management team who were open and transparent and took immediate action to address their learning and understanding of processes.
We identified some inconsistencies with the management of medications around the recording of pain patch rotation, some stock counts, and the omission of some people's 'as and when' (PRN) protocols on their electronic medication administration record.
Staff spoke about people with kindness, compassion and respect. One told us, “Before entering [person’s] room I will introduce myself, so they know I'm there. I listen to people, so I know how they want their care delivered. I make sure curtains are closed to maintain dignity. I really try to involve them in their care. I'm there for them, not for myself.”
The management team had effective oversight of the service’s performance and carried out regular spot checks to ensure appropriate and safe care was delivered.
The service had audits in place which covered care records, medicines management and training compliance.
Leaders were visible and approachable. One staff member told us, “I am a very open person, and I like to work with management. I can always ring the office for any support.”