Archived: Carewise Ltd

Updated 13 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was an announced comprehensive inspection, which took place on 15 and 18 May 2018 and was undertaken by one inspector. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection visit because we visited the office location of the service and needed to be sure that they would be in.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider completed and returned the PIR in January 2018 and we considered this when we made judgements in this report. We also reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications, which are events, which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about, and information that had been sent to us by other agencies.

During our inspection, we spoke to five people who used the service, three support workers, and the registered manager.

We looked at the care records of four people to see whether they reflected the care given and four staff recruitment records. We looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information for care staff, and minutes of meetings with staff and people and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 13 June 2018

Carewise ltd provides domiciliary care services. It provides support and personal care to a range of people living in their own houses in the community. At the time of our inspection, 20 people were receiving personal care from the service.

At the last inspection in March 2016, the service was rated 'Good'. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. Staff received safeguarding training so they knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and how to report any concerns. Risk management plans were in place to protect and promote people's safety. The staffing arrangements were suitable to keep people safe. The staff recruitment practices ensured staff were suitable to work with people. Staff followed infection control procedures to reduce the risks of spreading infection or illness.

The provider understood their responsibility to comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which came into force in August 2016. The AIS is a framework that makes it a legal requirement for all providers to ensure people with a disability or sensory loss can access and understand information they are given.

Staff received induction training when they first started work at the service. On-going refresher training ensured staff were able to provide care and support for people following current practice. Staff supervision systems ensured that staff received regular one to one supervision and appraisal of their performance.

Staff supported people to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain a varied and balanced diet. Staff supported people to access health appointments when required, to make sure they received continuing healthcare to meet their needs.

People were encouraged to be involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and they gained people's consent before providing personal care. People had their privacy, dignity and confidentiality maintained at all times.

People had their diverse needs assessed, they had positive relationships with staff and received care in line with best practice meeting their personal preferences. Staff consistently provided people with respectful and compassionate care.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was a visible role model in the service. People, their relatives and other professionals told us that they had confidence in the manager's ability to provide consistently high quality managerial oversight and leadership.