3 County Care

About the service

3 County Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to people who have dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health, physical disability, as well as older people.

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. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to three people.

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

People were protected from the risks of abuse and relatives felt reassured with the staff providing their support and care. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and would deal with them appropriately. Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while living as independent a life as possible. The registered manager scheduled visits so the same staff went to see people to maintain continuity of care and support. People were informed about the changes to their visits as necessary. The service did not support anyone with medicine at the time of inspection.

We have recommended that future ongoing staff training be updated in line with the latest best practice guidelines for social care staff.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. 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 were treated with care, respect, kindness and their dignity was upheld. This was confirmed by people’s relatives who provided feedback. People and relatives were consulted about their care and support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. People's diverse needs were identified and met and their right to confidentiality was protected.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. The registered manager and staff worked well together for the benefit of people and were focused on the needs of the people using the service.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. The registered manager encouraged feedback from people and families, which they would use to make improvements to the service and protect people against the risks of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care and treatment.

The registered manager had oversight in the monitoring of the running of the service, the quality of the service being delivered and took actions promptly to address any issues. The registered manager praised the staff team for their hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 24 May 2017. The service was dormant from then until September 2019. This is the first inspection after the dormancy ended.

Why we inspected

This was a first planned inspection based on the registration date and the end of dormancy.

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.