Quality Caring Limited

Updated 12 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by one inspector. An Expert by Experience assisted by making phone calls to some people who used the service and their relatives to ask for their feedback. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We visited the office location on 11 October 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we held about the provider. This included notifications of significant events. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We spoke with the local commissioning authority for feedback about their dealings with the service.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and the relatives of six other people on the telephone. We met staff working at the office location and one care worker. We also met the registered manager (who is one of the directors) and the other director. We looked at the care records for five people, staff recruitment, training and support records for five members of staff and other records used by the provider for managing the service.

Updated 12 November 2019

About the service

Quality Caring Limited (Known as QCL) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support for people living in the London Borough of Hounslow. The service is the only location for this provider. They offer a service to adults, mostly older adults and those with physical disabilities or mental health needs. They offer a service to between 100 - 150 people at any one time. Most people have their care commissioned by the London Borough of Hounslow. 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 using the service were happy with their care and support. They found the staff were kind, caring and attentive. Care workers arrived on time and carried out the tasks they were assigned to do. People told us they were offered choices and had been involved in planning their care. They said that the provider had responded when they requested changes.

The staff were well supported. The provider carried out recruitment checks to make sure the staff were suitable. The staff undertook an induction and training, so they had the skills and knowledge to provide effective care.

People's care was planned and risks they were exposed to had been assessed. The provider regularly reviewed plans and assessments to make sure these were up to date. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink if this was part of their planned care.

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.

The registered manager was also one of the directors of the company. They had set up the business and worked in this role for many years. They were familiar with the local community and worked closely with other organisations to improve standards of care. They had a good overview of the service and had responded to complaints, accidents, incidents and safeguarding alerts, so these could be learnt from and people were protected.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The service was rated Good at the last inspection (Published 15 June 2017)

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.