• Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Community Care Advice Centre

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Aldborough Road North, Ilford, IG2 7SR 0300 555 120

Provided and run by:
North East London NHS Foundation Trust

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of assessment: 30 January 2026

This was the first assessment of the service since registration.

Community Care Advice Centre provides reablement care and support to people either living in their own homes or at hospital. Not everyone using Community Care Advice Centre received regulated activity; the CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. This assessment included a site visit to the office location. At the time of the assessment, the service was supporting 38 people with personal care.

This assessment was carried out by 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. We looked at 33 quality statements as part of this assessment. We gave the service advance notice of this assessment. This was because we wanted to make sure someone would be available to support us with the assessment. The site visit was carried out on 2 February 2026. We gathered further information remotely from the service such as policies and staff files relating to training and supervision. We also spoke to people who used the service, relatives of people that used the service and staff as part of this assessment to seek their views about the service.

We found three breaches of the regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to our concerns.

8 December 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Community Care Advice Centre is a reablement service providing personal care to people seeking to regain their independence following accident or injury. At the time of the inspection 30 people were using the service though they can support up to 60 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 and relatives had mixed views about the window in which call times were provided. Some would have preferred more precise times for visits. The registered manager told us this occurred so people with more complex needs could be prioritised. The service had robust recruitment processes. People were safeguarded from abuse as staff were trained to spot the signs of abuse and knew what to do should they suspect abuse. Risks to people were assessed and monitored and any pertinent information shared with relevant teams who worked with people. There were robust infection control practices in place. The service had adequate supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and staff had been trained how to use PPE. The service learned lessons when things went wrong and learning was shared with staff appropriately.

People’s needs were assessed before they began using the service to ensure they could be met by the service. Staff were inducted into the service, so they knew what to do when they began working. Staff received ongoing training to ensure their competency was up to date. People received effective care as the service worked alongside other teams, appropriately sharing information about people to ensure they received good quality 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. Staff sought people's consent and were trained in the Mental Capacity Act.

People told us staff were caring. Staff were trained in equality and diversity and understood the need for cultural sensitivity when working in people’s homes. People s privacy was respected and their independence promoted.

People's care was planned and their needs recorded. Staff understood and provided person-centred care, placing people at the heart of their care. The service met people's communication needs, offering support in different languages where required. People knew how to make complaints and the service responded to these appropriately.

People and staff spoke positively about the provider and service management. The provider was aware of duty of candour and their responsibilities when things went wrong. The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities and roles. People and staff were able to be involved with the provider and help develop how the service was delivered. There were effective quality assurance processes in place, though due to the pandemic some of these had been suspended so the provider could reallocate staff resources to combat effects of the pandemic. The service worked well with other teams and sought to ensure people received joined up 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 23 May 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted due to the service not having been inspected before.

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.