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Whispers Care Solutions Limited

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

6B Leylands Business Park, Nobs Crook, Colden Common, Winchester, SO21 1TH (023) 8001 0600

Provided and run by:
Whispers Care Solutions Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 16 January to 6 February 2026. This assessment was prompted by a review of the information we held about the service. Whispers Care Solutions provides care and support to people living in their own home. The service provided care and support for children and adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, dementia, mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autism. Not everyone who used the service was receiving the regulated activities of personal care or treatment of disease, disorder or injury. At the time of our inspection, they were supporting 234 people. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulations in relation to good governance, safe treatment and consent. We found improvements at this assessment, and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found that the provider was working in line with principles of this guidance.

People received personalised care that promoted their independence, choice and dignity. Staff knew people well and provided care in the least restrictive way. They used positive behaviour support approaches to help people lead full and meaningful lives while maintaining their safety. Care plans were developed with input from people and their circle of support. People’s care needs and intended outcomes of support were clearly documented and there were systems in place to monitor how effective support was in meeting these goals. Staff understood people’s behavioural and communication needs and responded promptly when people were anxious or distressed.

Staff received appropriate training, and people told us staff were professional and competent. Staff were motivated in their roles and spoke positively about the provider’s leadership. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs to help ensure consistency and continuity of care. The provider had effective systems to monitor care delivery and reduce risks related to people’s care and support.

The provider worked in partnership with people and professionals when planning and reviewing care. Professionals told us that, for people with complex needs, the provider fostered effective working practices that led to positive outcomes.

The registered manager, senior leaders and senior staff were motivated and passionate about their roles. They were fully engaged in shaping the service’s day‑to‑day culture and had developed strong working relationships with people, relatives, professionals and staff. There were effective governance systems, which supported leaders to monitor and improve the quality and safety. The provider was focused on continuous improvement and used feedback to promote learning and development.

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of assessment; 25 February 2025 to 24 March 2025. This assessment was carried out in response to information we had received about the service. Whispers Care Solutions provides care and support to people living in their own home. The service provided support to meet a wide range of support needs for children and adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, dementia, mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autism.

The assessment of Whispers Care Solutions highlighted both strengths and areas for improvement. We found three breaches of regulations regarding consent, safe care and treatment and governance. Risk assessments and risk management plans were not always sufficiently comprehensive to support staff to understand how they were to support people to remain safe. Consent was not consistently obtained following legislation and best practice. Governance systems did not enable the provider to effectively act on all essential information regarding risk and performance.

However, the service had adequate, qualified, and skilled staff receiving effective training and supervision to undertake their roles. Some staff felt they could benefit from additional support to enhance their wellbeing and enable effective teamwork. The provider collaborated with individuals and healthcare partners when planning people’s care. Staff helped people live healthier lives, aiming to reduce future care needs. People were treated with kindness and dignity, and their privacy was respected, reflecting the dedication of the staff to provide compassionate and effective care.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance Care Quality Commission (CQC) follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. We found the provider did not always meet the requirements of this guidance as people’s human rights had not always been upheld where restrictions had been placed on them, and they could not consent to those restrictions; people had not always had decisions made in line with current legislation where they lacked capacity or had fluctuating capacity.

The provider demonstrated responsiveness and was taking action to address the identified shortfalls. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

11 November 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Whispers Care Solutions Limited is a domiciliary care provider. At the time of this inspection 167 people received personal care support from the service. The service supported younger and older people, some of who were living with dementia, within their own homes. The service also offered a complex care service for people with more higher levels of need working with multidisciplinary teams.

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 felt safe using the service. Systems were in place to protect people from abuse. There were enough staff to keep people safe, although some people felt calls were not always on time and raised concerns about the continuity of care workers who provided their care.

There were plans in place for foreseeable emergencies. Risks concerned with people’s health care and the environment were assessed and reduced as far as was practicable. However, some risk management records would benefit from being more comprehensive and complete.

People were supported to take their medicines safely. Staff were provided with training and checked to ensure they were following correct procedures.

Most staff felt supported by the provider and registered manager and could visit the office to discuss any concerns. Staff were enthusiastic about their jobs and showed care and understanding for the people they supported.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. This helped ensure people received personalised care in a way that met their individual needs.

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. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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 good (published 23 November 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staffing concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

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

1 November 2018

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on the 1 November 2018. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location is a domiciliary care service and so we needed to be sure key staff would be available at the office. Not everyone using the service received a regulated activity. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care', that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing a ‘personal care’ service to 130 people. The service supports people with a range of care needs including, people living with dementia, mental health needs, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

The service had an experienced 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.

There was a clear leadership and management structure in place which helped to ensure that the service was able to deliver effective care and that staff at all levels were clear about their role and responsibilities.

The registered manager and provider worked closely and effectively as a team and a hands-on approach which was valued by staff.

Staff were very positive about the leadership team who they said were approachable, accessible and supportive.

The registered manager and provider acted as excellent role models for the staff team and championed the importance of person centred care.

The registered manager and provider had fostered a positive culture within the staff team and staff were thanked and praised for performing their role well.

The registered manager and provider were committed to developing and upskilling their staff team and encouraging them to reach their potential.

The registered manager and provider were passionate about the service and had a clear vision for its future.

Quality assurance checks such as spot checks of the competency of care workers and audits of their record keeping were carried out on a regular basis which helped to maintain good practice

People told us they were supported by staff who were kind and caring. Staff displayed a genuine desire to enhance people's wellbeing and to developing positive relationships with the people they cared for. Care staff had an excellent understanding of the importance of promoting people's independence and supporting them to retain as much control as possible. People were treated with respect and the support they received helped to maintain their dignity.

The registered manager and provider had fostered an open and transparent culture within the service. They were passionate about the service and had a clear vision for its future. They acted as a good role model for the staff team and championed the importance of developing their staff team to person centred care.

People felt safe when being supported by the care workers. Risk assessments were undertaken to assess any risks to people who received a service and to the care workers who supported them.

Medicines were managed safely. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and had a good understanding of the signs of abuse and neglect and of how to report any concerns they might have about people.

Most people’s feedback about the timeliness and consistency of their calls was positive. Some felt this was an area where further improvements could be made as did some staff. There was evidence that the provider and registered manager were continuing to try and address this.

A range of recruitment checks took place before staff started working at the service.

Staff understood their responsibility to raise concerns and record incidents and accidents that occurred. There was evidence that lessons had been learned and improvements made when things had gone wrong.

Staff received training on infection control. Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as disposable gloves, hand sanitiser and aprons were readily available for staffs use.

Staff supported people to have maximum choice and control of their lives. We have made a recommendation about how consent is recorded and which records are retained in relation to this.

A programme of induction and training was provided which equipped staff with the skills to perform their role. We have however, made a recommendation about the frequency with which some training is repeated.

Staff had regular supervision and an annual appraisal. This helped to ensure staff understood their responsibilities.

People were supported to maintain good nutrition and staff liaised with health and social care professionals involved in people’s care if their health or support needs changed.

Staff were provided with the information they needed to meet people’s needs in a person-centred manner. This helped staff to develop their relationship with the person and provide responsive care.

The service had a complaints policy and information about how to raise concerns or complaints about the quality of care provided was readily available to people using the service.