• Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Intrinsic Care

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

6 Chestnut Avenue, Chatham, ME5 9AJ (01634) 931226

Provided and run by:
The Intrinsic Care Group Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

We carried out this inspection of Intrinsic Care Limited on 16 and 20 June 2025. We inspected the service as we had received some concerns about the care people may be receiving. Intrinsic Care is a service which provides personal care to people living in a supported living setting. This means that people have a tenancy agreement with the service and as such are living in their own house.

The service provided care to people with a learning disability so we have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture (RSRCRC)’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

While the service was generally well-managed, there were clear issues with staff culture, which indicated a lack of oversight. Staff knew about people’s individual risks and took measures to reduce them, although further information was needed in people’s care plans to ensure information was readily available to staff. Although care plans were comprehensive, they would benefit with some additional background information on people to assist new staff in getting to know people.

Where accidents and incidents took place lessons were learnt from these and changes made to reduce the likelihood of them reoccurring. This had also resulted in some improvements being introduced around daily care notes.

Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as they sought people’s consent prior to providing care. They had also received appropriate training in line with RSRCRC.

Staff felt supported and said they were able to contribute to the running of the service through staff meetings and supervision. Management consistently reviewed the service to help ensure they provided good quality care to people.

30 March 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Intrinsic Care is an agency providing personal care to people in a supported living service. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people living at the service, of which only five received a regulated activity.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People we spoke to told us they felt safe. A person told us, “This [service] is 10 out of 10. The staff here are amazing, they do everything for me and help me to stay well.”

Staff told us, “It’s such a good place to work. I love what we do, it's very rewarding and feel like we are making a difference to people’s lives.”

People had individual care plans and risk assessments created with them. This put people at the centre of planning and focused on achieving good outcomes. Staff knew people well, their likes and dislikes and who or what was important to them.

Risks to people were identified and were mitigated by detailed risk management plans.

People and their relatives told us that they were safe, and staff knew how to minimise potential harm.

There were adequate levels of staff to support people to remain safe balanced against respecting peoples need for space. One person told us, “The staff are not ‘space invaders,’ they get it just right; they help me but aren’t too intrusive.”

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.

People were invited to visit the service and spend time there, before making a decision to use the service. This enabled people the opportunity to determine if they felt comfortable in the environment, with staff and other people who lived there.

People were involved in the recruitment of new staff. They participated in interviews and were regularly asked by the registered manager for feedback on staff performance.

Staff protected people's privacy and dignity and encouraged people to maintain their independence by enabling them to do as much as possible for themselves.

Staff training was up to date and relevant.

The registered manager promoted an open and transparent culture within the service and feedback from people we spoke to supported this.

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 December 2019) and there were breaches of regulation. 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.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Intrinsic Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

24 September 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service

Intrinsic Care is an agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection four people who had mental health needs and lived in a shared supported living scheme were receiving a service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People could not be sure only suitable staff had been employed to support them, as the provider had not always used robust recruitment practices.

The monitoring procedures in place were not effective which could compromise the quality and safety of the service people received.

Individual risk assessments did not always provide the detail needed to keep people safe. We have made a recommendation about this. People and their relatives told us they were safe and staff knew how to keep them safe. There were enough staff to provide the support and flexibility people needed.

People were met with before they moved into the service to complete an initial assessment. This enabled the provider to make sure staff had the skills to provide people’s support. Staff received the training, support and supervision they needed to carry out their role and achieve their personal development goals. When people needed assistance with eating a balanced diet and taking care of their physical and mental health, this was provided in a flexible way to meet their present needs.

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. Some management plans in place to support people during times which posed particular risk were not appropriate within a supported living setting. We have made a recommendation about this.

People’s support was individual, planned and provided in a way that put them at the centre of planning. People were encouraged to develop a recovery plan to help them to achieve their goals. Staff knew people well, their likes, dislikes and what and who was important to them.

There was an open culture, led by the provider, who was described by people, relatives and staff as being approachable and supportive. People knew the provider and were relaxed and enjoyed their company. The provider had a good oversight of the supported living service, visiting at least once a day.

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 1 February 2018 and this is the first inspection. The service was not providing personal care services until April 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration and when regulated activities commenced.

Enforcement

We have identified two breaches in relation to recruitment procedures and quality monitoring at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.