Archived: Countywide Caring Ltd - Domiciliary Care Office

of our inspection there were 30 people with a variety of care needs, including people with physical disabilities or mental health needs, using the service.

We last inspected the service on 8 July 2015. At the inspection in 2015 the service was rated Good with an outstanding rating in well -led.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The service continued to be exceptionally well led by the registered manager, who was also the registered provider. The registered manager promoted a strong caring culture that valued everyone and promoted mutual respect. This culture ensured people received a personalised service that put them at the centre of everything the service did.

The registered manager used her skills and extensive knowledge to find innovative ways to improve the experience of people using the service. This included the importance of involving people in the wider community.

Without exception everyone we spoke with were extremely complimentary about all aspects of the service, particularly the caring nature of the staff. People described how staff were always prepared to go the extra mile to enhance people's well-being. Staff were passionate about their role and committed to providing a high quality service.

People were involved in their care and were supported to make decisions in respect of all elements of their support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service was responsive to people's needs and took prompt action to address people's changing conditions. Staff took time to get to know people and used this knowledge to enhance people's well-being, showing great empathy to people's situations.

Staff were highly skilled and supported to continually improve their knowledge through accessing training. Staff were motivated to access development opportunities and achieve national qualifications. They told us they were supported in a positive way when they had difficulties.

Medicines were managed safely. Staff were trained to ensure they were competent to administer people's medicines. Risks to people were assessed and there were effective plans in place to manage risks.

There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs. People told us staff were rarely late and no one we spoke with had experienced any missed visits.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the service. This included systems to obtain feedback about the service.

Before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. For example, where people had mobility difficulties there was a risk assessment in place alongside the support plan to support the person.

People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. The service had a clear safeguarding procedure of who to contact and inform. People we spoke with felt safe and staff we spoke with had a good understanding of what to do if they had concerns.

People were cared for and supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. Staff we spoke with told us, 'it was a very thorough recruitment process, it enabled me to decide whether it was where I wanted to be, but they also asked good questions to see if I was the right person with the right knowledge and attitude'. People who used the service and staff were asked for their views about their care and treatment and they were acted on.

The provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service. There was evidence that learning from incidents / investigations took place and appropriate changes were implemented. However, we found that the provider did not have an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others.

We found that people were happy with the care that was provided. One person we spoke with described the care as 'very good'.

We found that the service protected people and care was delivered safely. One person using the service told us 'I feel safe when they are here; I look forward to them coming'. One relative we spoke with told us 'I feel mum is safe when they are here and I am not worried about going out'.

People were supported by experienced and skilled staff. One member of staff told us 'the induction was fantastic, I had so much training I felt confident in my role'.

Staff were supported to deliver good care. One staff member said 'you never feel like you're alone, if I'm ever stuck I can always call someone for advice'.

People were aware of the complaints procedure. People we spoke with had no complaints. One person told us 'I have absolutely no complaints but if I did I would call the manager'. A relative told us I have never had to complain, if I have a comment to make I ring the manager up and they deal with it '.

We found that care records were accurately maintained. One member of staff informed us 'I can go to the office and look at the care files for more information if I need to and if there are any changes'.