We carried out a review of the data available to us about Agincare Live-in Care (South West) on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Agincare Live-in Care (South West), you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Agincare Live-in Care (South West) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care. At the time of our inspection, they were delivering care to 120 people through live-in arrangements and 101 people through rapid response.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were very happy with the service they received. Each person benefited from a regular staff member who knew them well. People told us they had developed positive, caring relationships with their regular staff. Comments included, “My carer is wonderful. If I think of something she does it, I can’t be happier we get on so well” and “They are excellent, brilliant in fact, so kind, nice and caring.”
People felt safe and comfortable when staff were in their home. People were kept safe as potential
risks had been assessed and managed. People told us they were happy with the support they received with their medicines. People’s medicines support needs were documented in care plans. We have made recommendations about the management of some medicines. Staff recruitment practices were safe. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to infection control.
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. Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
People received a personalised service to meet their specific needs, preferences and wishes. People were involved in making decisions about their care and supported to maintain their independence. Care plans were personalised, very detailed and up to date. This meant staff had the information they needed to deliver appropriate care.
People benefited from a provider who placed an emphasis on delivering a high-quality service. People told us the service was well managed. Staff were passionate, highly motivated and proud to work with the service. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to share their views about the service to make improvements. Regular checks were made to monitor the quality and safety of service provided.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection – The last rating for this service was Good (published 24 September 2019).
Why we inspected
This was a planned pilot virtual inspection. The report was created as part of a pilot which looked at new and innovative ways of fulfilling CQC’s regulatory obligations and responding to risk in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was conducted with the consent of the provider. Unless the report says otherwise, we obtained the information in it without visiting the Provider.
The pilot inspection considered the key questions of safe and well-led and provide a rating for those key questions. Only parts of the effective, caring and responsive key questions were considered, and therefore the ratings for these key questions are those awarded at the last inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agincare Live-in Care (South West) 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.
Agincare Live-in Care (South West), referred to as Agincare in this report, is a home care agency providing personal care to 98 people through live-in arrangements at the time of our inspection. Agincare also provided 34 people with rapid response personal care at the time of our inspection.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service had undergone a restructure the year prior to our inspection. This had resulted in teams being more localised and had led to some significant improvements. People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the improvements made and the new registered manager at the service.
People spoke highly of the service they received from Agincare. People made comments including; “I am happy with the service I get” and “I am satisfied with the way they are looking after me. I have a live-in carer and have no complaints. Everything I need and want.”
The service had strong person-centred values and placed people at the heart of their work. People had access to staff who knew them well and achieved positive outcomes and strong relationships. People’s care plans contained personalised information which detailed how they wanted their care to be delivered. Staff knew people well and expressed care and affection for them when speaking with us.
People were supported by kind and caring staff who worked hard to promote their independence and sense of wellbeing. People told us they enjoyed the company of staff with comments including; “We’ve always had nice girls here (Staff). The one at the moment is perfect, she’s wonderful, “I get on really well with the carer, they become your friend” and "We’re like a family, he takes me out a lot, I’ve been very happy.”
People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable.
Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and management plans were put in place to ensure these were reduced as much as possible. During the inspection we identified some shortfalls in the systems for overseeing, recording and auditing medicine stocks. However, immediate action was taken to improve on these systems and people told us they were confident staff were competent when managing their medicines.
People were fully involved in their care and their wishes respected. People’s views were sought and their consent was always gained before any care took place. 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.
There was strong leadership at the service and people, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. There was a positive culture at the service and staff felt their voices were listened to.
Agincare’s management team was passionate about improving the service and had plans for future projects to benefit people. There were quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.
We have made a recommendation about the systems for monitoring medicine stocks.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection–
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 April 2018). Since this rating was awarded the provider has altered its legal entity. We have used the previous rating and enforcement action to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.