Clarke house care ltd

Updated 20 February 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 and support to people living in their own homes in the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire areas.

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

What we did before the inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We sought the opinion of Healthwatch; Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, office managers, a field care supervisor, senior care staff, and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four 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 looked at training data, policies and quality assurance records.

Updated 20 February 2020

About the service

Clarke House Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to 22 people aged 18 and over at the time of the 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

People felt safe and the provider assessed risks to the health and wellbeing of people who used the service and staff. Where risks were identified action was taken to reduce the risk where possible. Recruitment processes were in place to ensure that people were protected from staff being employed who were not suitable to work with vulnerable people. Medicines were handled safely by staff who had been assessed as competent to do so.

People felt the service they received helped them to maintain their independence where possible. People said that staff were caring and respected their privacy and dignity. People received care that was planned with them and their relatives to meet their individual needs and preferences.

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.

People knew how to complain and knew the process to follow if they had concerns. People's right to confidentiality was protected and their diversity needs were identified and incorporated into their care plans where applicable.

People did not always receive timely care from a regular staff team.

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

This service was registered with us on 30/01/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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.