Castrian Group Ltd

Updated 1 February 2022

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 conducted 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 used this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 very short 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.

Inspection activity started on 2 November 2021 and ended on 14 January 2022. We visited the office location on 2 and 12 November 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service, including the statutory notifications we had received from the provider. Statutory notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send to us. We contacted the local authority commissioning and safeguarding teams and Healthwatch to request feedback. 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 the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager. We contacted a further 13 staff by email to request their feedback and we received two replies.

We looked at three staff recruitment files, three people’s care plans and a variety of records including policies and procedures relating to the quality and safety of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 1 February 2022

About the service

Castrian Group Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 26 people. 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. At the time of our inspection 14 people were receiving a regulated activity.

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

People told us they felt safe and relatives confirmed they had no safety concerns. Systems were in place to safeguard people if staff suspected any form of abuse. Policies and procedures were available for staff to ensure the safeguarding procedures were followed. No safeguarding concerns were raised with us during this inspection.

There were enough staff employed to meet people’s assessed needs. People were supported by a consistent staff team who knew people well. Recruitment procedures did not always robustly assess candidate’s suitability for employment. We have made a recommendation the provider considers current best practice guidance relating to the recruitment of staff.

Risks people were exposed to were assessed and action taken to mitigate any known risks. Staff feedback confirmed they felt well supported by the registered manager/provider. Staff told us they felt they were well trained to meet people’s needs. There were some gaps in training records to evidence staff had completed all the training the provider had assessed was mandatory. We have made a recommendation about this.

Assessments of people’s needs were completed. Records contained person centred information which was specific to the individual. People and their relatives told us staff were kind, treated them respectfully and listened to any feedback they provided. Any equality and cultural needs of people were considered during the assessment process and people were encouraged to express how they wanted their care to be delivered.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14/08/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of the provider’s registration with CQC.

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.