Official Care Newcastle

Updated 24 August 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. 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 team consisted of two inspectors.

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 short notice of the inspection due to it being a small service.

Inspection activity started on 25 June and ended on 3 August 2021. We visited the office location on 3 August 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information received about the service since its registration with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We contacted four staff members, including the registered manager and three care workers.

We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records and one person’s medicines record. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment practices and staff management. We reviewed a selection of records relating to the management of the service including policies, risk assessments, training records and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

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

Updated 24 August 2021

About the service

Official Care Newcastle is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to three people in their own homes. 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.

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

People were treated with kindness and compassion and staff knew their preferences. People and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care. Dignity and respect was maintained at all times.

People confirmed they felt safe with the care staff. The provider had policies and procedures for dealing with safeguarding and whistle blowing concerns. Staff knew how to raise concerns and told us they would do so if needed.

Staff were consistent and reliable so that people received their care on-time. New staff were recruited safely. People received their medicines safely and staff followed good infection prevention and control (IPC) practices.

Care was personalised and responsive to people’s needs. People’s concerns were listened to and acted upon in a timely manner. The service learnt from issues and took action to improve the service.

People’s needs were explored and suitable care was put in place. Staff training was appropriate and up to date. People were supported to maintain their independence and make choices about their care.

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.

People, relatives and staff had opportunities to provide feedback. The provider had quality assurance systems to help improve the care people received.

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 23/08/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.