- Homecare service
Aurora Home Care Ltd
Assessment report published 21 January 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out this assessment of Aurora Home Care Ltd on 4 and 5 November 2025.
Aurora provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.
The service did not always apply the principles and values of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
We identified areas requiring improvement in governance, risk assessments and care planning. Risk assessments were often incomplete or absent, and care records lacked person-centred detail about preferences, aspirations, and health goals. There was no evidence of significant harm, but these issues posed an ongoing risk if not addressed. Systems for monitoring outcomes and learning from incidents were underdeveloped, and medicines management required some improvement and better oversight. These shortfalls meant the provider could not fully demonstrate safe and effective care, despite staff knowing people well and mitigating risks in practice.
The registered manager acted promptly to address concerns during the inspection and has begun implementing improvements, including strengthening audit systems and planning additional training. The pace of change and improvement needed increasing. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
The provider had started introducing Oliver McGowan training to support people with a learning disability. Governance systems, including audits and medicines oversight, were still being developed and need to be embedded to ensure sustainable improvement.
Staff demonstrated a good awareness of people’s needs and people we spoke with gave generally positive feedback. This included regarding staff reliability, kindness, dignity, personal preferences and needs.
Staffing levels were safe and there was no evidence of missed or late calls. There were effective processes in place for ensuring safety in this area.
The registered manager was open about the challenges facing the service and had taken some steps to make recent improvements, such as additional supervisors in post.
People's experience of this service
People and external professionals consistently praised staff for their kindness, reliability, and flexibility. One person said, “I love my home and [named various staff members]. They are really nice.” Another person said, “I love the staff at the office too.” One person said, “It’s nice to come home after work. They help me and I like what they make when they help me with meals.” Staff were described as approachable and responsive, and people felt reassured that help would be provided promptly in emergencies. People confirmed staff were reliable and consistent. They had built strong bonds with them and there was mutual respect and appropriate banter in equal measure. People told us they felt safe and respected, and behaved in ways that clearly indicated they trusted staff.