Archived: Carewatch (Isle of Wight)

Carewatch (Isle of Wight) is a domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. 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. At the time of our inspection 74 people were receiving a regulated activity.

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

Although people that received care from Carewatch (Isle of Wight) were generally happy with the care they received we found shortfalls in the safety and management of the service which placed people at risk of harm.

The provider’s quality assurance processes were not effective and had failed to identify concerns we found and improve the quality and safety of the services provided.

Not all risks for people had been fully assessed and plans put in place to mitigate those risks as far as possible. Where risk assessments were in place a lack of staff meant that they were not always followed. Medicines had not always been managed safely.

Recruitment procedures were not always effectively followed to ensure only suitable staff were employed and we have made a recommendation to support improvement.

People told us they felt safe when receiving a care service and staff and the manager were aware of their safeguarding responsibilities.

Staff told us they always had enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and had not experienced a shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. They described how and when they would use PPE which reflected appropriate current guidance. Care staff told us they were regularly testing for COVID -19. The manager said they were now seeking evidence from staff to confirm completion of testing and test results.

People and their family members were all positive about the caring nature of the staff. People told us they were always treated with dignity and respect. People felt able to express their views and request additional tasks if required.

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

The last rating for this service was good (published 11 May 2021).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about risk management and staffing levels. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. During the inspection we identified that the existing rating for caring was no longer correct and we therefore expanded the inspection to also cover this key question.

For those key questions not inspected, (effective and responsive) we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, caring and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Carewatch (Isle of Wight) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to risk assessment, medicines management and ensuring the quality of the service at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Carewatch (Isle of Wight) is domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. Not everyone using Carewatch (Isle of Wight) received a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 120 people were receiving a regulated activity from the service.

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

People benefitted from a management and staff team who were committed to ensuring they received a service which was exceptionally caring, and staff went above and beyond to support people to live fulfilled lives. The staff and management team were driven to help prevent social isolation for people living in the community. People and their relatives unanimously told us that staff were exceptionally caring and praised the staff for their caring, kind and respectful attitudes and confirmed their preferences were listened to and respected.

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 received effective training that gave them the skills to support people with their needs. Staff were clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Staff carried out their roles and responsibilities effectively and had a good understanding of managing risks.

Staff worked in partnership with external health and social care professionals to ensure they supported people well. Professionals all spoke highly of the service and the care provided.

People received personalised care from staff who understood their needs well and staff were responsive to people’s needs. People received care from a consistent staff team. People and relatives felt confident to raise issues or concerns with the service if they needed to.

The registered manager had an excellent oversight and knowledge of all aspects of the service. This was echoed by all the professionals we spoke with. Staff understood what their role was, in achieving personalised support.

Performance management processes were effective, reviewed regularly, and reflected best practice. Effective governance was embedded into the running of the service. There were systems and processes in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of 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

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 4 August 2018.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the time since 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.