Love 2 Care Homecare Services Ltd

Love 2 Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service provides support to older people in their own homes in the Swindon area. At the time of our inspection there were 56 people using the service.

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

There were systems to monitor the service. However, these systems were not always effective and did not always identify concerns relating to risks, planning, training and punctuality.

Risk assessments did not always identify how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm and we saw that not all staff were trained to carry out care related to specific risks. However, staff we spoke with understood the risks to people, delivered safe care and knew how to seek guidance if needed. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs.

People's care plans were person-centred and focused on what was important to people. However, not all care plans were accurate or up to date, and some missed key information to ensure people were supported safely.

Not every staff member had received training to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. We saw that supervision/spot check meetings for staff had not been held regularly since the last inspection, but we saw a supervision schedule was now in place. Staff told us they felt supported by the management to perform their role.

People told us staff were not always punctual and that visit times varied from day to day, however, we also heard that staff often communicated to people if they were going to be very late. A new system had very recently been installed to monitor visits.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People were kept safe from abuse and harm, and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns.

People and their relatives were involved in reviews and were supported to express any concerns they may have. People felt they were treated with kindness and spoke positively about staff.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 29 June 2022. Breaches of legal requirements relating to safe care and treatment and good governance were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

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 and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has not changed and remains requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have identified continued breaches in relation to Regulation 17 (Good Governance) and Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Love 2 Care Homecare Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Love 2 Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service provides support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 91 people using the service.

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

People, and their relatives were not always aware of who the registered manager was but found the office team approachable and supportive. Staff told us the registered manager was supportive when approached but was not always visible in the day to day running of the company. There were systems to monitor, maintain and improve the quality of the service. However, these systems were not always effective and did not identify concerns relating to risks, planning and punctuality.

People were kept safe from abuse and harm, and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse. The service had systems to report and investigate concerns. Risk assessments identified how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm. However, we saw that not all staff were trained to carry out care related to risks. Staff we spoke with understood the risks to people and delivered safe care in accordance with people's support plans and knew how to seek guidance if needed. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs.

People told us staff were not always punctual and that visit times varied from day to day, however, we also heard that staff often communicated to people if they were going to be very late.

Not every staff member had received training to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. We saw that supervision/spot check meetings for staff were not held regularly, however, staff felt supported by the management to perform their role. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People's care plans were person-centred and focused on what was important to people. Although care plans were regularly reviewed, we found that information was not always consistent across different systems. People and their relatives were involved in the reviews and supported to express any concerns they may have. People felt they were treated with kindness and spoke positively about staff.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about, staffing, infection control, and training. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. This was a planned focused inspection of the service.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have identified breaches in relation to Regulation 17 (Good Governance) and Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Love 2 Care Homecare Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People received person-centred care from a service that had developed a strong caring culture. People were supported by consistent staff which enabled them to develop positive relationships.

• The service was managed by a committed management team who ensured people were respected and treated as individuals.

• There were systems in place to protect people from harm and abuse. Where risks were identified there were plans in place to manage the risks. Medicines were managed safely

•Staff were extremely positive about the support they received. Staff received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs and were supported to access development opportunities.

•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.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all domains.

Rating at last inspection: This is a newly registered service. This was the first inspection.

Why we inspected: We inspected this service within 12 months of the date of registration in line with our inspection methodology.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our reinspection schedule for those services rated Good.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk