Caretakers SW Limited

Updated 3 July 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one 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.

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.

Inspection activity started on 4 June 2019 and ended on 11 June 2019. We visited the office location on 4 June 2019. We carried out phone calls to people and their relatives on 10 and 11 June 2019. We carried out home visits to people on 6 June 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 17 people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider, registered manager, team leader, care workers, and training consultant.

We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance records. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We received feedback from three professionals.

Updated 3 July 2019

About the service

Caretakers SW Limited is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to people in their homes in Paignton and Torquay. At the time of our inspection 96 people were using the service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. Personal care is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people do receive personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Since the previous inspection, the service had made improvements to record keeping and travel time between visits.

People felt safe and comfortable when staff visited them in their home. People were kept safe as potential risks had been assessed and managed. There were enough staff to complete planned visits.

People’s needs were met by staff who had received regular training and support. 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.

People received personalised care from staff who knew them well. People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff. People were involved in making decisions about their care and supported to maintain their independence. Care plans contained up-to-date information about each person’s needs and preferences.

People and their relatives were asked for their views about the service. The most recent feedback results showed that people were happy with the service they were receiving.

There were effective quality assurance and governance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.

The registered manager was committed to improving care where possible and had developed effective working relationships with other professionals and agencies. The service had been nominated for The Outstanding Care Awards for Devon and Cornwall 2019 in the categories of ‘domiciliary provider of the year’.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of “good” in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “good”.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (report published 19 July 2018) and there was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We received some concerns before the inspection relating to staffing, staff training, and people’s needs not being met. We examined these risks as part of the inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the Safe, Effective, and Responsive sections of this full report.

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.