Updated 3 July 2021
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
Two inspectors and one Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. One inspector carried out the on-site visit, while the other reviewed inspection documents remotely. 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:
Caremark is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care service to people living in their own home.
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:
The inspection site visit was announced and started on 21 April 2021. We gave short notice of the inspection because we wanted to be sure a senior member of staff was available to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as notification or serious incidents. The provider had been 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. This information helps to support our inspections.
During the inspection
We spoke with five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, registered manager and three care workers. We also spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. These included four people's care and medication records, four staff recruitment files and training and supervision records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service. We reviewed how the provider and the registered manager completed their quality assurance checks
After the inspection we obtained feedback from two health professional to obtain their views about the service. We have included their views and feedback in the main body of the report.