About the service Ahmed & Gul Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 147 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 told us they felt safe and were well supported by staff. One person said, “Staff are very understanding, they help me with any of my problems straight away. They are very kind and speak to me nicely. One staff in particular is truly brilliant.”
People were safe as staff had received training in safeguarding adults and had a good understanding of the types and symptoms of abuse. Staff knew how to report concerns and were confident to do so.
People said they received their medicines on time and correctly. Staff worked with the local health professionals and pharmacies to ensure people had the right medicine and health support at the right times.
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 had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and how to support people to make decisions or report concerns of capacity where people’s abilities had changed.
People were supported by staff to follow their own preferred diets and religious and cultural needs. This included specialist diets recommended by health professionals. Staff supported people to access a range of health professionals as they required it.
People told us staff were kind and caring and never rushed them. Staff supported people to review their care needs regularly involving their relatives and health professionals as requested. People were supported to live independently and find ways to maintain this.
People were supported to receive care that was in line with their preferred methods and needs, taking into account their abilities and cultural sensitivities. Staff responded to complaints quickly and effectively and people told us complaints were resolved and the same issues did not reoccur.
People were encouraged by staff to give feedback on the service and suggest ideas for improvements. The manager had created an open, person centred culture and a clear vision of high-quality personalised care that was shared by the staff team and experienced by people receiving care.
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 25 February 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.