Care4Us Health Care

Updated 17 June 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

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

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of 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 27 April 2022 and ended on 4 May 2022. We visited the location’s address on 29 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we held about the service.We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed records relating to the running of the service including four care plans, three staff files and policies. We spoke with one person who uses the service and to a service user’s relative. We contacted professionals who had worked with the service. We spoke with five staff including three care assistants, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 17 June 2022

About the service

Care4us Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service were supporting 11 people with personal care needs. 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.

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

People and professionals working with the service gave positive feedback about the service. People were supported in a caring way by staff who understood the importance of treating people with dignity and respect.

Staff were responsible for administering medication to some people who used the service. We found staff had received training and competency checks as part of their induction process. We found examples of medication administration records (MARs) where medication which was administered from blister packs had not been recorded individually. This is not best practice in line with NICE guidance. At the time of the inspection the service were in the process of transitioning to electronic MARs. The system showed individual medications were listed. We have made a recommendation the service refer to the guidance and continue with this best practice.

Staff training records were not up to date. At the time of the inspection the service were transitioning between two systems to record their online training. The registered manager was in the process of collating the information. Staff had completed the induction process including observation shifts prior to supporting people with care.

Staff and people using the service spoke positively about the registered manager and the provider. Staff told us they were supported on calls by the management team as part of their induction process. We received positive feedback about the care being provided by staff.

Care plans were personalised to people’s needs and preferences. We saw examples of care plan reviews which involved the person using the service and their family. Staff understood the importance of treating people with dignity and respect. A person using the service and a relative of a service user felt they received good care from staff.

The management team had good oversight of the service and were in the process of implementing a new electronic system. The system enabled the registered manager to monitor call times and the completion of care tasks.

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 27 August 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.