Desired Care 4 U Limited

Updated 16 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 and supported by Experts by Experience to make telephone calls to people using their service and their relatives. 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who had worked with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider completed a provider information return. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We received feedback from eight people who used the service and six family members. We also spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, administrator and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records, his included; care records and risk assessments, three staff files to check safe recruitment was followed. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, training and quality audits.

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 spoke with people who used the service.

Updated 16 December 2021

About the service

Desired Care 4 U is a domiciliary care service providing a service to people living in their own home. This announced inspection took place on 30 November 2021. We gave the provider 24 hours' notice that we would be visiting the service because we wanted to make sure staff and people would be available for us to speak with. At the time of the inspection there were forty eight people using the service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care.

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

There was a recruitment process which ensured staff were recruited safely. However, we found the process did not always ensure work related references were verified when they had been provided via a personal e-mail address. The registered manager addressed this issue during the inspection to ensure the reference process was robust and references were obtained from suitable referees.

Staff received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to support people safely, this included safeguarding vulnerable adults. Staff knew what action to take if they identified any safety concerns during their work. 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 told us they received regular, supportive supervisions.

Risks to individuals were identified and action was taken to reduce risks. Medicines were managed and monitored to ensure they were given safely and as prescribed. Care staff followed the medication procedure and received training and monitoring.

We found on the whole people received support from the same staff members to ensure they received continuity of care. This provided people with the opportunity to build positive relationships and trust. People told us they were supported by a staff team who showed them kindness and respect.

The management and care team ensured they supported people in a person-centred way to reflect people’s equality and diverse needs. People told us that where possible, there was flexibility when attending calls in response to people's individual's requests and needs.

We saw evidence that care calls were scheduled to ensure there was enough time for staff to travel between calls. The registered manager told us they would only accept new packages of care if they were able to provide staffing to meet the individual's needs safely.

People's needs were regularly reviewed to ensure the care provided was up to date. Care plans included information to ensure people's communication needs were understood. Staff were deployed accordingly to meet people’s preferred choice of language. This meant people were able to communicate effectively with staff members, ensuring their needs and wishes were met. The registered manager and staff team were committed to ensuring there was no discrimination relating to staff or people in the service.

The quality of care provided was continually assessed, reviewed and improved. People using the service, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback.. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

The service worked well with health and other professionals to ensure people's needs were met.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (published 09 November 2018). At this inspection we found the service remained Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

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.