We carried out a review of the data available to us about A&M Home Care Services Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about A&M Home Care Services Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
A&M Homecare is a domiciliary care agency which provides assistance with personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were providing support to 13 people.
At the time of our inspection visit 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 received care and support from a consistent staff team who knew about risks associated with their care. Risks were assessed, and staff followed guidance to safely support people. Staff were trained to identify and report any safeguarding concerns such as signs of potential abuse. There had been no accidents or incidents involving people since the last inspection of this service. Staff were recruited safety and people felt safe with the staff who supported them. People told us staff attended calls to their homes on time and stayed for the duration of the call to complete the care and support they required.
Staff provided effective care because they were regularly monitored by the registered manager and completed essential training to ensure they delivered care safely. Care staff were subject to regular observations by the registered manager. Observations included checks of medicine management to ensure people received their medicines as required. The registered manager attended care calls with staff to ensure they followed the provider's policies and procedures.
People’s needs were assessed prior to them using the service to check they could be met. 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. Staff asked people for their consent before providing them with any care. Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people had access to the right healthcare support. They encouraged people to eat and drink well and assisted people with any nutritional needs.
People told us the staff were kind, caring, friendly and cheerful. Staff provided personalised support and encouraged people's independence whilst delivering care. People's care plans provided clear instructions for staff to follow on how to meet their needs. People and their relatives were positive about the service they received and felt it improved outcomes for people.
The provider had a system to monitor the quality of the care provided which included seeking people’s views and experience of care. Audit checks completed by the registered manager identified any improvements required. People knew how to raise a concern and felt issues they raised were listened and responded to. The registered manager understood the importance of information being accessible to people and had arrangements in place to ensure these were in suitable formats for people.
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 Requires Improvement (published 26 March 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
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 our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
People’s experience of using this service: At the time of this inspection the registered provider had not been carrying out any quality assurance audits to ensure that people were receiving the right care and support.
This was a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 related to governance.
Please see the ‘action we have told the provider to take’ section towards the end of the report.
The registered provider told us they had not carried out quality assurance checks because the service had been very small. They had been working ‘hands on’ to help grow the business rather than working in the office. Following our inspection, they informed us that they would implement a range of quality checks. Feedback was sought from people and their relatives, however there was no evidence to show that it had been analysed and acted upon.
Most people spoke very highly of the care staff who supported them and the registered provider who also managed the service.
Risk assessments were in place and acted upon appropriately to reduce any identified risks, however these had not been reviewed and did not have dates and signatures on them. We found some gaps in recruitment records however these were addressed by the registered provider following this inspection.
Staff knew how to safeguard people from abuse. People were supported with their medicines by staff assessed as competent in this area. People told us they received their medicines as prescribed however, we found some gaps in medicine records. We identified some gaps in staff training including for some staff who did not have a qualification in care.
People’s plans of support were very detailed in terms of their preferences. 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. We identified however that some people had one overall capacity assessment rather than decision specific ones.
A system for recording and responding to complaints was in place. The management team worked with other agencies and professionals to meet people’s needs.
The registered provider was very open and honest about the areas of improvement required and sent us information about how the shortfalls identified were being addressed following this inspection.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of the service since it registered with CQC in October 2017.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on when the service first registered with CQC
Follow up: We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.