Background to this inspection
Updated
7 May 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 undertaken 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 48 hours’ 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 7 April 2022 and ended on 13 April 2022. We visited the office location on 11 April 2022.
What we did before the inspection
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. We reviewed information held on the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one relative who’s loved one used the service about their experience of the care provided because we were unable to speak with the person. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, two care workers and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
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 policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We contacted two social care professionals who had contact with the service.
Updated
7 May 2022
About the service
AAA Care Solutions Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care for people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting three 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were not always supported by effective quality assurance systems. The newly registered service had recently started providing services to people and was in the process of implementing systems which had not been embedded in practice. We have made a recommendation about the management of governance systems. People’s consent to care had not always been formally recorded. We have not identified evidence of harm. The registered manager and provider took immediate action to ensure their assessment processes included consideration of how people’s consent was obtained. A relative confirmed staff always asked for consent before offering support. One relative told us how respectful staff were. Staff provided assurance of how they work with people to ensure they were involved and consented to the support staff provided.
Relatives told us people were supported by staff who understood how to keep people safe. Care plans and risk assessments promoted safety and reflected peoples wishes.
People were protected by staff who were knowledgeable about safeguarding and understood the prevention and reporting of abuse. Practices and policies promoted safety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff received training, had appropriate personal protective equipment and underwent a regular COVID-19 testing regime to minimise the spread of infection.
People were supported by staff who were trained and competent in their roles. Staff were supported by the registered manager who had developed a programme of spot checks of staff practice where they assessed staff competence and sought feedback from people and relatives to help inform service development. A relative confirmed how they were supported to feedback on the quality of the service, “The [registered manager] listens and understands.”
People were involved in their assessment process with the registered manager, care plans were written to enable people to have full control of the support they received. Staff ensured people were involved in their support. People were cared for by empathetic and compassionate staff.
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 knew who the registered manager was and a relative spoke highly of their management skills. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and they would be listened to when making suggestions, comments or complaints. One staff member told us, “I can speak to them any time.”
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 23 November 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This is the first inspection for this newly registered service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.