- Homecare service
Domiciliary Care Experts
Assessment report published 5 June 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: This assessment took place between 13 January 2026 and 29 January 2026. We visited the office location on 13 and 14 January 2026. The assessment was carried out to follow up on enforcement action we had taken at the last assessment.
The service provided domiciliary care and support to people and supported some people with complex care needs. The service was registered to provide nursing support to people. However, at the time of the inspection there were no nurses working at the service and staff were not providing nursing support. At the time of this assessment there were 63 people (a mixture of adults and children) receiving support with ‘personal care’: help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity of personal care. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. We did not review people’s care and support who did not receive personal care.
This service is registered to support people with physical disabilities, autistic people and people with a learning disability. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ (RSRCRC) is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture (RSRCRC)’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
During the assessment we found 7 breaches of the regulations in relation to person centred care, consent to care and treatment, safe care and treatment, complaints management, staffing, fit and proper persons employed and good governance. The breaches of safe care and treatment, staffing and good governance were continued breaches from the previous assessment. People continued to be placed at risk of harm. The oversight and management of the service had not improved.
People were not always protected from avoidable harm because risk assessments were not always in place, and not always clear, comprehensive and up to date. Care plans were inconsistent. Some were very detailed to give staff clear information on how to meet people’s needs and some were sparse. Some people were not always treated with dignity and respect. Medicines were not always well managed. Systems and processes to audit and check the service were not in place. Staff felt communication was not always effective. Staff were supported through training; however, staff had not all completed training relevant to people’s assessed needs. Staff had not always been adequately deployed at times that met people’s needs, they did not always have sufficient travel time between people they supported. Staff had not always been recruited safely. However, the provider had carried out relevant checks such as criminal record checks before staff started as well as carrying out home office right to work in the UK checks.
This service remains in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we user our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.
In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.
People's experience of this service
People and relatives gave us mixed views about their experiences of receiving a service from Domiciliary Care Experts. People said, “The office are terrible, they don’t communicate at all. Sometimes they might call me back but rarely. I would absolutely not recommend this agency to other people”, “I find management are easy to talk with and they always answer the phone quickly. I am happy with the care that I am getting”, “I feel safe with them all, I have been having them now for about 3 years and they arrive on time and always stay as long as needed”, “I do not always feel safe with the carers to be honest. It’s mostly communication issues”, “I’m very happy, they are all wonderful to me. I have no complaints whatsoever” and “I would recommend this company. I find this company understanding and supportive.” Relatives said, “I have found there is a lack of communication with the office sometimes. However, I would recommend this agency. The carers are just amazing, and I have no complaints at all about them. I just feel that they need more travel time”, “I have contacted the office time and time again about the lack of care my relative is getting and all they say is “I’ll have a word with the carer” but nothing improves, the carers do not change my relative’s incontinence pad and so my relative regularly is sitting in soaking wet clothes sometimes overnight when I did go out. I go ballistic when I find this, how poor caring is that?” and “I do not believe that this company is well led. I am concerned about the short or long term future of this company as I do not know how it is still operating. I believe that CQC need to do a full and through inspection of this company. I would not recommend this company.”