Archived: Adu's Care

Updated 19 November 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 carried out 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 September 2019 and ended on 16 October 2019. We visited the office location on 26 September 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, such as the notifications that they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We also sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with a person’s relative about their family member’s experience of the care provided. We also spoke with one member of care staff and the registered manager.

We looked at a range of records relating to how the service is run and monitored. This included the person’s care records and medicines administration records (MARs). We also looked at other records, such as staff recruitment and training records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at recruitment checks and a risk assessment.

Updated 19 November 2019

About the service

Adu’s Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to one person at the time of the inspection.

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

There was a lack of managerial oversight at the service and the provider’s monitoring process did not look effectively at systems throughout the service. This led to issues and shortfalls in many areas, but significantly staff recruitment checks were not always fully obtained before new staff started working.

Risks to people were not always identified or managed safely. Assessments did not identify actions to reduce risks or contain information to show the level of risk. People were cared for by staff who had not received all training needed and had not had previous training checked to make sure they had the skills and knowledge needed. Care plans were not written in enough detail to provide guidance to staff if they did not know the person well. Information about people’s wishes was not recorded, even when it was known.

Staff had details if they needed to contact health care professionals and made sure they asked people’s consent before caring for them. Staff members understood and complied with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies in the service supported this practice, however records had not been updated to show where best interest decisions had been made.

Staff were caring, kind and treated people with respect. People were listened to and were involved in their care. People’s right to privacy was maintained by the actions and care given by staff members.

People’s personal and health care needs were met and they were happy with the care they received. A complaints system was in place.

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 23/10/2017 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the provider’s registration and provision of care dates.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to assessing and management of risk, staff recruitment checks, care planning and assessing the quality of the service at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.