During an assessment under our new approach
About the service
Mulberry Home Care Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service was supporting 27 people with the regulated activity of personal care at the time of this assessment.
Who the service is for
This service supports older people, some of whom are living with dementia, and people with physical disabilities who are living in their own homes.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment on 24 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
Staff were aware of risks to people’s safety and knew how to raise concerns. However, we found risk management plans did not always contain sufficient guidance for staff. This concern was largely mitigated by people having consistent staff supporting them who had received training in all the areas of concern identified. The provider told us they would review risk management records and make the required changes.
Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and the provider had effective systems in place to monitor, report and address concerns. When accidents or incidents occurred, the provider took action to ensure people’s safety and put measures in place to minimise risks to people going forward. Robust systems were in place to manage people’s medicines and staff followed safe infection prevention and control procedures. The provider supported people to assess the safety of the environment and made referrals to external agencies offering advice on fire safety and security.
Staff were recruited safely and received a broad range of training to support them in their roles. They told us they felt fully supported by the provider and registered manager and were able to contact them for advice at any time. One staff member told us, “If you need them, they are there at the end of the phone. You only have to ask. It makes such a big difference and makes you feel so much more comfortable and confident.”
People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving care. Regular reviews were held to ensure there were no changes to people’s care needs and that they were happy with the support they received. The service worked well with a range of healthcare professionals to ensure people’s health outcomes were closely monitored and improved. Professionals told us the service communicated with them regularly and made appropriate referrals to support people’s safety and health needs.
People and their relatives told us they were supported by kind and caring staff who knew them well. One person told us, “I really can't fault them; they're all lovely, really lovely. They’re kind and friendly and very helpful, they'll turn their hands to anything. I really like them; they couldn't be more respectful.” Staff were able to describe how they ensured they gained people’s consent and understood the importance of providing people with choice. One staff member told us, “We always offer a choice and ask what they are happy with. Some people have very set ways in they want things to be done and we must respect that. It’s their independence and choice.”
People and their relatives told us they felt able to contact the office should they need any changes or to raise any concerns. We heard a number of telephone conversations during our inspection visit where the management team responded to people warmly and gave assurances that changes to the timings of visits or additional support would be actioned.
The provider had robust systems in place to review the safety and effectiveness of the service people received. Frequent checks of people’s care were undertaken and records were reviewed regularly. Any shortfalls were addressed promptly and action taken to prevent them reoccurring.
People’s care was planned in a person-centred way, at a time of their choosing and using a consistent staff team. The provider and registered manager told us the aim of the organisation was to provide people with safe and highly personalised care. This was reflected in the comments received from people, relatives and staff. One relative told us, “All I can say is that they're amazing, life supportingly good, they know [family member] every which way. They're forever going above and beyond and often going the extra mile.”