Background to this inspection
Updated
21 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team: The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type: Care 4 U Services (Lincoln) Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone using Care 4 U Services (Lincoln) receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene, eating and medication. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
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: We gave the service four days’ notice of the inspection visit. We needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to facilitate this inspection.
Inspection site visit activity started on 25 January 2019 and ended on 1 February 2019. We visited the office location on 30 January 2019. On 25 January and 1 February 2019, we spoke with people using the service, their relatives and staff by telephone.
What we did: Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) in May 2018. 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 looked at information we held about the service including notifications they had made to us about important events.
We also reviewed information sent to us from other stakeholders including the local authority and members of the public.
We spoke with two people during our visit and one relative. We also spoke with two staff, the registered manager, the assistant manager and regional director during our visit. We received feedback from one health and social care professional.
We reviewed two people's care records, policies and procedures, records relating to the management of the service, training records and three recruitment records of care workers.
Updated
21 March 2019
About the service: Care 4 U Services (Lincoln) Limited is a domiciliary care agency. At the time of the inspection it provided personal care and support to 20 people aged 65 and over.
People’s experience of using this service: People were supported safely and protected from harm. There were systems in place to reduce the risk of abuse and to assess and monitor potential risks to people.
Incidents and accidents were managed effectively; lessons learnt were shared with staff to reduce the risk of further occurrences.
The management of medicines was safe. We found some recording issues which were immediately dealt with by the registered manager. Risk assessments had been completed, provided detailed guidance for staff to follow and were reviewed regularly.
There were enough skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of people who used the service. Recruitment checks were robust and new staff completed a comprehensive induction and training programme.
Health and safety checks were carried out to ensure people remained safe in their homes. Staff used personal protective equipment to prevent against cross infection.
People and their relatives said staff were kind and caring. Staff treated people with respect and dignity. People were involved in decisions about their care and encouraged by staff to be as independent as possible.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Initial assessments were carried out to ensure people’s needs could be met and personalised care plans followed. Staff understood people’s likes, dislikes and preferences and people told us they were offered choices about their care.
Some people using the service required end of life care. The provider worked closely with another organisation who facilitated their specific care needs and offered advice and training for staff.
Care records clearly identified nutritional and dietary needs. People were supported to live a healthy life and staff supported people to access health care professionals when required.
A complaints system was in place and these were managed effectively. People and staff told us they felt confident to raise any concerns and felt these would be managed.
The provider had embedded quality assurance systems to monitor the quality and safety of the care provided. The provider worked in partnership with other services to support people’s care and quality of life. Regular reviews were carried out with people using the service to gather their views.
Staff told us the management team were open, honest and supportive. People told us the management team were approachable.
More information is in the full report below.
Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Good (published 28 June 2016). The overall rating has remained good.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating of good.
Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.