Petals Care Agency

Updated 7 February 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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.

Registered Manager

This service is not required to have a registered manager as the provider is a single entity, run by one person. They are in day to day charge of the business.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke by telephone with 1 person who used the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with 4 staff, the provider, the senior care supervisor, the administrative assistant and a care assistant. We looked at care and medicines records of 4 people and reviewed the recruitment records of 4 staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including various policies and procedures.

Updated 7 February 2024

Petals Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people receiving support with personal care from the service. The service primarily supports older people, including those living with dementia.

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

Systems were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Risk assessments were in place which set out the risks people faced and included information about how to mitigate those risks. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Steps had been taken to help prevent the spread of infections. Systems were in place for investigating accidents and incidents. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

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.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. There was an open and positive culture at the service, which meant people, relatives and staff could express their views. The provider worked with other agencies to develop best practice and share knowledge.

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 2 January 2018).

Why we inspected

We had not inspected this service for over 5 years and we needed to check that they still provided safe care to people.

Follow up

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