Carrick Healthcare Ltd

Updated 26 January 2023

Inspection team

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 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.

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 a registered manager in post.

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 a member of staff would be available to support the inspection. We visited the location’s office on 11 November 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care and support provided. We received feedback from 5 members of staff. We looked at a range of records. This included two people's care records, two recruitment files, training records, medication records and audits of the service.

Updated 26 January 2023

About the service

Carrick Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.

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

People we spoke with were positive about the agency and the support provided. People told us, “I can’t fault them [managers and staff]. A wonderful service. Very happy,” “They [managers and staff] go over and above. They have done so much to support us and point us in the right direction for help” and “They [staff] always have a smile and time for a chat.”

There were individual risk assessments which were person centred to ensure people were protected and could be supported safely. People received care and support as and when it was commissioned. There had been no missed calls and all calls were monitored to identify any gaps.

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 were recruited safely and were deployed to suit the specific needs of people. Staff told us they enjoyed working for the agency and felt very supported by managers.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding about safeguarding people from the risk of abuse. Training was provided and regularly updated. Staff were reminded of safeguarding issues and practices in meetings to ensure information was current to support staff.

Most people administered their own medicines, but where staff supported people, they managed medicines according to national guidelines. Support for people was planned to ensure the person’s needs and wishes were considered.

There was a strong person-centred culture within the staff team. Care and support plans had been developed for people, to understand the reasons for some people’s behaviours and actions. They provided guidance for staff to ensure consistent approaches were used when supporting those people.

Staff knew people they supported well and demonstrated an understanding of their individual care and communication needs. This helped ensure people people’s views were heard and their diverse needs met.

Safe infection control measures were followed by staff and there was enough PPE available to support this.

Staff were supported by a system of induction, training, supervisions, appraisals and staff meetings. Staff were appropriately trained, and their competency regularly checked, to ensure people’s needs were met.

People’s relatives and staff told us management were approachable and they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to the service.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

We registered this service on 25 October 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.