We carried out a review of the data available to us about Care Solutions Fylde Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Care Solutions Fylde Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Care Solutions Fylde provides personal care to people in their own homes, in and around the Blackpool area. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity. 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 59 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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 felt safe and were protected against the risk of abuse. Where people were supported to take their medicines, staff did so safely. The registered manager used incidents as a learning opportunity and shared learning to improve the safety of the service. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough of them to meet people’s needs. People received support from a consistent team of staff who knew them well.
People’s needs were thoroughly assessed before they received support to ensure they received the support they required. People received care from staff who were trained, competent and well-supported to carry out their role. Staff provided the support people needed with meals and drinks.
People were supported by staff who were kind, considerate and caring. People spoke positively about the staff who supported them and the service as a whole. Staff respected and promoted people’s privacy, dignity and independence. Staff asked people for their views about their care and respected the decisions they made.
The registered manager had developed a positive, person-centred culture within the service. The registered manager and staff team were committed to providing people with high-quality care. The registered manager understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour. The registered manager used feedback and the results of audits to continually improve the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 March 2021). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Care Solutions Fylde Limited is a is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 31 people at the time of the inspection. 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
The provider had identified risks to people’s health and wellbeing, but some care plans failed to have strategies and guidance to support staff to manage these risks. Medicines management and administration were not consistently reviewed allowing poor practice not to be identified and addressed. Quality assurance activities were not consistently completed or effective. They had not identified the shortfalls we found during our inspection.
Not all documentation supporting safe recruitment was in place. We have made a recommendation about this. People recognised the service was improving but feedback consistently complained about poor timekeeping. We have made a recommendation about this. People gave mixed feedback on person centred care. We have made a recommendation about this.
We received conflicting feedback on personal protective equipment. Some people and one relative stated not all staff wore uniforms or wore PPE. However, the management team and staff said PPE was available and accessible. The provider liaised with the local authority, sharing information on the current pandemic status. All staff participated in weekly testing and had received guidance on how to access the Covid-19 vaccination.
The pandemic had impacted on training, but electronic training was ongoing, and staff told us they had the skills to meet people’s needs. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team. 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. Consenting to care was included within people’s care plan. Feedback on staff being caring and respectful was positive. Comments included, “They are respectful of my dignity.” And, “They are very friendly, helpful and respectful.”
Not everyone had up to date care plans, however people felt the care they received was improving. The management team were in the process of reviewing documentation. Visit times and the duration of staff visits were under review. There were processes in place to respond to complaints or concerns. Not all these were shared as part of the inspection. No one was being supported with end of life care. There was no process in place to discuss people’s preferred priorities of care and end of life.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission as required by law at the time of our inspection. The provider had appointed a new manager. People, staff and relatives were involved in the service. Staff and management worked in partnership with other agencies, social and health professionals and external organisations.
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 21/04/2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of risk, the support people received, governance and leadership. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and Governance. The provider did not manage risk or medicines consistently safely. The did not use quality assurance processes to identify and address concerns in a timely manner.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.