Updated 22 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.
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 not a registered manager in post. The care and wellbeing manager at the service was planning to apply to CQC to be the registered manager.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or management would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 27 May 2022 when we visited the office and ended on 8 June 2022 when we gave feedback.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed our systems and information we held about the service. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of Rula Homecare Limited.
We spoke with the provider’s nominated individual, the care and wellbeing manager, the deputy manager and three care staff. We received electronic feedback from one relative, six members of staff, a social worker and the local authority commissioning team who work with the service.
We reviewed a range of records which included risk assessments, medication records for three people and three staff records. We also viewed some of the provider’s policies and procedures, management monitoring and oversight records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.