Caring Connections

Updated 28 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the CQC. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and we wanted to be sure there would be people available to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 07 November and ended on 13 November 2019. We visited the office location on 07 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we looked at the information we held about the service. This information included statutory notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted local authority commissioners and asked them for their views about the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the registered office and spoke with the registered manager, the registered provider, three office-based staff and two care staff.

We visited two people in their homes and their family members. We also spoke on the telephone with two staff, two people and five people’s family members about their experience of the service.

We looked at five people’s care records and a selection of medication and medication administration records (MARs). We looked at other records including quality monitoring records, recruitment and training records for three staff and other records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 28 November 2019

About the service

Caring Connections is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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. The were 47 people receiving personal care at the time of the inspection.

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

There were processes in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm. Risks people faced were identified and control measures were in place to keep people safe. The recruitment of staff was safe, and people were supported by the right amount of suitably skilled and experienced staff. Medicines were used safely. There were systems in place for reporting accidents and incidents and learning from them.

An assessment of people’s needs, and choices was completed and a care plan on how to meet their needs was developed. The plans provided clear instructions for staff on how to provide effective care and support to people and they were kept under review. People’s needs were met by staff who received good support and the training they needed for their role. People’s dietary and healthcare needs were understood and met.

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.

People were treated with kindness and their privacy, dignity and independence was promoted and respected. Staff had formed trusting and positive relationships with people and their family members. People openly expressed their views and opinions and they felt listened to.

Care plans were personalised, they included peoples expressed wishes and preferences about how their care and support was to be provided. People told us they received personalised care and support. People knew how to complain, and they were confident about complaining if they needed to. Complaints were used to improve the service.

The registered manager and provider promoted a positive and person-centred culture. There was good partnership working with others to meet people's needs and to further develop the service. Staff were acknowledged for their work and they felt well supported and valued. The quality and safety of the service was continuously monitored and improvements were made in a timely way.

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

Rating at last inspection

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with us on 13 October 2018.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had yet to be rated since it registered with the CQC on 13 October 2018.

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.