Background to this inspection
Updated
14 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 houses and flats. The service had a manager who was 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. At the time of the inspection the registered manager was on annual leave. The service was led by the care manager.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was 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 also looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern.
During the inspection
We spoke with 19 people and five relatives. We looked at four people's care records and four medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with two care staff, an administrator, the care coordinator and the care manager. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service. These included three staff files, quality assurance audits, incident reports, complaints and compliments. In addition, we contacted a healthcare professional for their views.
Updated
14 November 2019
About the service
Caremark West Oxfordshire and Cherwell provides a domiciliary care service to enable people living in Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas to maintain their independence at home. There were 110 people using the service at the time of the inspection, who had a wide range of physical and health care needs. The CQC only inspects services where people receive personal care which is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where services offer personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People's experience of using this service
People told us staff were caring and kind. Staff's commitment and knowledge enabled people to receive care from staff who knew them well.
The registered manager and staff strived to provide safe care and support. The registered manager worked with GPs and other healthcare professions to ensure the service responded to people's changing needs safely and effectively. People's care was personalised and matched their needs, which promoted their well-being and improved their quality of life.
The registered manager continually looked for ways to improve people's lives. Staff culture was positive, and the team was caring. This had resulted in the provision of compassionate and personalised care. The service had a clear management and staffing structure in place. Staff worked well as a team and had a sense of pride working at the service. The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.
People received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. People told us they felt safe receiving care from the service. Staff fully understood their responsibilities to identify and report any concerns. The provider had safe recruitment and selection processes in place.
Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain good health and to meet their nutritional needs.
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 this service was Good (published 23 March 2017).
Why we inspected:
This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care.
Further inspections will be planned for future dates.