Archived: I-Care

Updated 5 December 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

This inspection was completed by one inspector and one Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave 24-hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 15 October and ended on 17 October. We visited the office location on these dates.

What we did before the inspection

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. This information helps support our inspections and we used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people and five other people’s relatives on the phone. We also spoke with six members of staff, including the registered manager and area director. We reviewed the care plans and records for four people and looked at staff recruitment files for four staff members. In addition, we also looked at records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service, including records of compliments and complaints.

After the inspection

We wrote to the registered manager for further information about feedback we had received.

Updated 5 December 2019

About the service

I-Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 52 people at the time of the inspection, in their own homes.

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

People’s care needs and wishes were assessed prior to care packages being arranged. Each person had a care plan in place around their support and how they would like this to be delivered. Their care plans were reviewed regularly and people were supported to share their feedback about their care.

People told us care staff supported them to feel safe and were respectful of their home. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and risk reducing measures were documented in their care plans for staff to follow. Care staff had been appointed following safe recruitment processes. Staff competencies were monitored through spot-checks, supervisions and team meetings.

People were supported to have choice and control of their care 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.

The care staff were praised by people and their relatives for having a kind and caring approach. We were told staff promoted their dignity and respected their privacy, particularly during personal care.

Where people had support with preparation of food and drinks, they told us they were happy with what the staff prepared for them.

People and their relatives were invited to share their feedback in regular review meetings, or through annual surveys. Complaints were investigated thoroughly and referred to the local authority safeguarding team when needed. Findings from complaints and outcomes of managerial audits were used to make improvements at the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was re-registered with us on 7 October 2018 and this is the first inspection under the current registration.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 January 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service had changed and the service had moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered with us.

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.