About the serviceMarygold Care UK Ltd is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 51 people using the service. Everyone using the service lived within the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and had their service commissioned by the local authorities.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People’s experience of the service was positive. A relative of one person using the service told us, “We are very happy with the service. My relative feels safe. Staff have always turned up and they stay as long as they should.” This view of the service was repeated by everyone we spoke with.
People who used the service were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Care workers knew how to identify and report concerns. Where safeguarding concerns had been identified, the registered manager had taken appropriate action.
There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. The assessments provided information about how to support the people to ensure risks were reduced.
There were enough care workers deployed to keep people safe. They had been recruited safely. Pre-employment checks had been carried out.
Feedback indicated that there were no punctuality issues. However, we found there were limits to the service’s current monitoring system. The registered manager told us they would address this.
There were systems in place to ensure proper and safe use of medicines. People’s relatives told us people received their medicines on time.
People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service had processes in place to reduce the risk of infection and cross contamination.
There was a process in place to report, monitor and learn from accidents and incidents. Accidents were documented timely in line with the service’s policy and guidance.
There was an effective training system in place. Care workers demonstrated good knowledge and skills necessary for their role.
People’s health needs were met. The service worked with a range of professionals including GP, palliative care team and speech and language specialists.
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.
People’s privacy was respected. Care plans described how people should be supported so that their privacy and dignity were upheld.
People received person centred care. Their assessments showed they had been involved in the assessment process. Care workers were knowledgeable about people’s needs. They could describe to us how people liked to be supported.
There was a complaints procedure in place, which people’s relatives were aware of. Quality assurance processes such as audits, spot checks, accidents and incidents, were used to drive improvements.
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 20 April 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.