CARE4U - SURREY

Updated 10 February 2023

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short notice period of the inspection because we needed to ask the registered manager to send us information and to obtain people's consent to receive a telephone call from us.

Inspection activity started on 12 January 2023 and ended on 24 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since its registration, including notifications of significant events. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 the registered manager via Teams meetings about how the service was run. We spoke with 6 relatives to hear their feedback about the care the agency provided. We received feedback from a professional who had worked with the service and from 8 staff members about the training, support and information they received.

We reviewed information sent to us by the registered manager, including care plans and risk assessments for 3 people, medicines administration records, recruitment records for 3 staff, training records, accident and incident records, quality audits, meeting minutes, the complaints log and the service's business continuity plan. We used email communication, video and telephone calls during this inspection to gather information from the provider, people’s relatives and staff. We used electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

Updated 10 February 2023

About the service

CARE4U – SURREY provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.

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

Relatives told us their loved ones felt safe with the staff supporting them. The provider had systems in place to ensure that any safeguarding concerns were reviewed and shared with the relevant authorities. Risks to people’s safety and well-being were recorded and known to staff with guidance in place regarding how to support people safely. Medicines were administered safely by trained staff. There were sufficient staff to meet all care calls and relatives confirmed staff stayed the allocated time. Staff received relevant training to support them in their roles.

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 were supported to access health care support where needed and advice from staff was followed.

Relatives told us their loved ones were supported by consistent staff who knew their needs well. They told us staff were caring and kind in their approach and took time to ensure their loved one felt comfortable and involved in their care.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving care and this information was transferred to care plans and guidance for staff. Records included information regarding how people communicated and contact information for others involved in their care. Relatives described the provider as being responsive to their loved ones needs.

Relatives and staff told us they were able to contact the office or on-call should they have a concern and support was always provided. There was a positive culture within the service which centred around people receiving personalised care. The provider ensured they remained up to date with current guidance though attendance at various support forums.

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 12 June 2019). At our last inspection we found the provider had implemented improvements although these had not been fully embedded into practice. We also recommended that information in relation to people’s health care conditions were added to care plans. At this inspection we found systems and process were now consistently used to ensure regulations were met and that staff received guidance in relation to people’s health care needs.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

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