Background to this inspection
Updated
25 November 2020
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 undertaken by two inspectors. One inspector completed a site visit.
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
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 registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 29 October 2020 and ended on 3 November 2020. We visited the office location on 30 October 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We asked the provider to send us a number of documents before the inspection site visit. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection-
We spoke by telephone with five people who used the service, two relatives and one friend about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of care staff, the registered manager who was also the provider, and two office-based staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records, medication records and systems for planning care visits. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
25 November 2020
About the service
Carewatch (Horsham and Crawley) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people in their own home. At the time of the inspection 76 people were being supported. 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 their relatives told us they were happy with the service they received. They described the care workers as kind, caring, patient and said the service was reliable.
The registered manager had addressed the areas identified for improvement following the last inspection. For example, systems for safeguarding people from abuse had been reviewed and were now robust. Incidents were consistently monitored and safeguarding concerns had been appropriately identified and escalated in line with the provider’s policy.
Systems for monitoring quality and managing risks had been reviewed and improved. There were robust arrangements to support governance and to provide management oversight. This meant that the registered manager could be assured that risks were consistently identified and managed.
Appropriate infection control procedures for the Covid 19 pandemic were in place to keep people safe. Staff had received additional training and used appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.
Risks to people were assessed, managed and reviewed consistently. Detailed care plans provided staff with the information they needed to provide care safely and in the way people preferred.
People were receiving their medicines safely and there were enough staff to provide the care visits that people needed.
People and staff described the service as being well managed. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager and said they were well supported in their roles. A staff member told us they were “proud of the good job” they were doing.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update:
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 23 September 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 and 11 July 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Safe and Well led. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Carewatch (Horsham and Crawley) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.