A & T Caring Services

Updated 7 December 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 was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance and electronic care management records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with a relative of a person supported by the agency. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at policies and procedures. We spoke with two staff working in the agency.

Updated 7 December 2021

About the service

A & T Caring Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. The agency supported one person with personal care at the time of the inspection. The agency supported older people with physical support needs since its registration.

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

People’s relatives felt staff supported people safely. Staff were trained to support people around their individual risks, with their medicines and when they needed help to contact other healthcare professionals, for example in emergencies.

Staff knew how to protect people from abuse or neglect. Staff were also trained in infection prevention and control.

There were enough staff employed to provide care to people and recruitment processes were safe. The management team had systems in place to closely monitor day to day care visits and took action to ensure people received the care they needed, even if they came across any unforeseen circumstances such as the national petrol shortage.

The registered manager ensured any learning from people’s feedback and any issues identified in the service were actioned and improvements were made. People were informed on how to make a complaint. The provider had a good system in place to make sure complaints were addressed and responded to and feedback from people was sought.

People’s care plans were person-centred. The management team ensured people’s needs and risks were discussed with them in detail so they could be supported in a way which brought the best possible outcomes and was in line with their preferences and individual situation.

Staff knew how to support people in a caring, kind and respectful way. People’s relatives told us staff were nice and kind to people.

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.

Staff had access to relevant training and ongoing support from the managers who worked directly with the team. The registered manager regularly monitored the quality and safety of the service and had a clear vision of how they would develop the agency ensuring people received person-centred and safe care.

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 7 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for A & T Caring Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.