Crystal Care Service (Leicester)

Crystal Care Services (Leicester) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection seven people were receiving personal care.

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

People were cared for safely. Risk assessments were in place and reviewed regularly and as people’s needs changed. Staff understood safeguarding procedures. Safe recruitment practices were followed to ensure staff were suitable for their roles.

There were enough staff to meet people’s care needs and people received care at the agreed times. People were supported with their medicines and good infection control practices were in place.

People’s care records contained clear information covering all aspects of their care and support needs. Staff had a good understanding of people’s wishes and individual preferences. People’s personal preferences, likes and dislikes, communication needs and links with family were all considered within the care plans. Staff received training to meet people’s needs.

Where required, people were supported with their eating and drinking to ensure their dietary requirements were met. People were supported to use health care services when needed.

People received support from reliable, compassionate staff. Staff enjoyed working at the service and there was good communication and team work. Staff were caring in their approach and had good relationships with people and their relatives. People were treated with respect. Staff maintained people’s dignity and promoted their independence. Consent was sought before care was delivered.

The registered manager was also the provider and they monitored the quality of the service provided. They were aware of their legal responsibilities and worked in an open and transparent way. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint.

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.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 July 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 out re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Crystal Care Services (Leicester) is registered to provide personal care and support for people living within their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service of differing ages and needs, whose care was provided by the registered manager and five members of care staff. People's packages of care varied dependent upon their needs.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered on 14 January 2015.

Crystal Health Care Services (Leicester) had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People’s safety and welfare was promoted by staff that understood and had received training on their role in protecting people from risk. Safety and welfare was further promoted through the assessment and on-going review of potential risks to people. Where risks had been identified measures had been put into place, which included the use of equipment to reduce the likelihood of risk and were recorded within people’s records and understood and implemented by staff.

Staff upon their recruitment had their application and references checked to ensure their suitability to work with people. Staff underwent a period of induction and training, which included their being introduced to people whose care and support they would provide. Training provided to staff and staff understanding of their role and responsibilities meant people were supported appropriately with all aspects of their care, which included support with their medicines.

People’s needs were effectively communicated and recorded and understood by staff, to ensure people’s needs were met. People’s care and support needs were recorded by staff which provided a clear record as to the support and care people received.

Staff understood the importance of seeking people’s consent prior to providing care and support. Staff liaised with health care professionals where necessary and kept in contact with people’s family members where they had concerns about people’s health. People received support with the preparation, cooking and eating of meals where needed to ensure people’s nutritional needs were met.

Family members had mixed views as to the attitude and approach of staff. A family representative spoke positively about the caring relationships that had developed between their relative and staff and the positive impact this had had on their well-being. In contrast a family member told us how the approach of some staff had made it difficult for caring relationships to be developed. The registered manager had been made aware of people’s views and had met with staff to bring about improvement.

We found the complaint policy needed updating to ensure it contained accurate information and fully supported people’s rights to raise concerns independent of the provider, should the complainant not be satisfied with the provider’s response to their complaint. The registered manager had received compliments about the quality of the service provided from family representatives.

The registered manager undertook audits to ensure themselves of the quality of the care being provided. This included reviewing the documentation completed by staff as to the care they had provided. A quality assurance tool was not used by the registered manager to evaluate all aspects of the service, which included responding to people’s comments about their care. External agencies responsible for funding some of the people who used the service told us they had identified areas for improvement. They were working with the registered manager to bring about continued and further improvements