Archived: ICare (GB) Limited

Updated 17 January 2020

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 carried out by one inspector and an 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 they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager was not available during the inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 December 2019 and ended on 11 December 2019. We visited the office location on 11 December 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we held about the service, such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We also sought information from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and emailed eight members of staff including the senior care-coordinator and the area operations manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested further information around employment start dates for people and recruitment policies and processes.

Updated 17 January 2020

About the service

ICare Bury is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, there were 14 people receiving a service. 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 told us they felt safe. However, it was not clear if people always received their medicines when they needed them. We have made a recommendation about the management of medications. Recruitment procedures had been recently revised. However, they were insufficiently robust. We made a recommendation around recruitment to ensure staff receive appropriate safety recruitment checks prior to being introduced to people at the service.

Staff received safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Staff received appropriate training and induction and had developed positive relationships with the people they supported.

People’s needs were assessed prior to using the service and care plans were reviewed regularly. People's personal histories were recorded and information in relation to their healthcare needs. Spot checks were carried out to ensure staff provided people’s care safely and in the way they preferred.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. People told us they were respectful and always had a smile for them. Staff told us they enjoyed their jobs and felt valued by the management.

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.

The registered manager was not present at the time of the inspection. Team meetings and supervisions had not regularly taken place but this had been identified and actioned. Staff told us they felt well supported and communication was good within the service. Audits were taking place, but were not as robust as they could be. People were complimentary of the management team and felt they were approachable.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 December 2018 and this is the first inspection

Why we inspected

This was a planned first inspection.

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.