Charis Care Solutions

Updated 25 September 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 completed by one inspector.

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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 26 July 2019 and ended on 29 July 2019. We visited the office location on 26 July 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 the registered manager and we reviewed the care records for the person receiving support from the service. We looked at two 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.

Updated 25 September 2019

This inspection took place on 24 July 2018. The inspection was announced.

Charis Care Solutions is registered to provide personal care support to people. At the time of our inspection the agency supported six people, five of whom were in receipt of support with personal care and employed three care workers. The service is located in Coventry in the West Midlands.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes, including, older people, younger adults, people living with dementia and physical and learning disabilities.

This was the first inspection of Charis Care Solutions since their registration with us in June 2017.

The service 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. The provider is the registered manager of this service and will be referred to as ‘the provider’ throughout this report.

The provider needed to further develop their knowledge and understanding of their regulatory responsibilities to ensure their policies and procedures were up to date, safe recruitment practices were consistently followed and quality monitoring systems were always effective. People and relatives were encouraged to share their views about the service to drive forward improvement.

People and relatives were very satisfied with the service they received and the way the service was managed. People and relatives were provided with information about how to make a complaint. No complaints had been received by the service. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People felt safe with their care workers and there were enough care workers to provide all planned care calls, at the times expected and for the length of time needed. The management team and care workers understood how to protect people from abuse and their responsibilities to raise any concerns.

People’s care records were personalised and most informed care workers how people wanted their care and support to be provided. People and, where appropriate, relatives were involved in developing and reviewing planned care.

Care workers had a good understanding of the needs and preferences of the people they supported. People who required support had enough to eat and drink and were assisted to manage their health needs. The provider and care workers worked with other professionals to support people to maintain their health and well-being.

People and relatives spoke highly of care workers attitudes, reliability and were confident care workers had the knowledge and skills needed to meet their needs. Care workers completed some training, including on-going training to provide them with the knowledge and skills need to meet people’s needs. Further training was being planned.

Care workers were inducted into the service and received regular management support through individual and team meetings. The provider was in the process of reviewing their induction to ensure it reflected nationally recognised guidance. Care workers felt valued and enjoyed working at Charis Care Solutions.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected and their independence promoted. The provider understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Care workers had not completing further MCA training since starting work at the service. However, people confirmed they worked within the principles of the Act and the provider gave assurance future training was being planned.

Procedures were in place to ensure risk associated with people’s planned care were assessed. Risk management plans were up to date and provided staff with the information they needed to safely manage and reduce known risks. Care workers followed the guidance provided and understood how to minimise risks to people's safety.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.