We carried out a review of the data available to us about Welcombe Care Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Welcombe Care Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Welcombe Care is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes, including older people who have a physical disability or people living with dementia.
At the time of our visit the agency supported 59 people who received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is to help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do provider personal care, staff also consider any wider social care provided. Care calls were a minimum 30 minutes.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives were very complimentary about the support they received. A typical comment was, “Welcombe Care are first class.”
People felt safe in their own homes receiving support from care staff. Relatives said staff were respectful, caring and understood how people wanted to receive their care. Staff knew how to protect people’s safety and welfare. Care staff were trained in safeguarding adults and staff understood how to protect people from abuse and poor practice.
People received their care calls at the right time, for the right duration and from a consistent staff team. People told us staff knew their routines and preferences really well.
Safe procedures to manage people's medicines and to prevent the risk of infection were understood and followed by staff. Regular checks by the registered manager ensured potential risks or errors were kept to a minimum.
People and their relatives made decisions about their care and were supported by staff who understood and followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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 felt comfortable when they received support because staff respected their individual rights to privacy, dignity as well as promoting their independence. People’s preference for gender of staff, was respected which people said, made them feel more comfortable and trusting.
Care plans were personalised to support the person centred care the registered manager described was fundamental to their service. Some care plans we reviewed needed updating which had been recognised by the registered manager to ensure staff continued to provide the personalised care people needed.
People were in control of how their care was delivered. Ongoing reviews ensured it remained what people needed and where changes where needed, there was flexibility in call schedules to achieve this.
The provider’s governance systems were operated and managed effectively to ensure good care outcomes for people that continued to meet their needs. Daily records and medicines records completed in people’s homes were regularly checked so any issues could be addressed without delay.
There was an experienced registered manager. The registered manager and office staff team provided strong support to people they cared for and to their staff team. The provider had plans to increase the strength of the management team. The registered manager said this would help them have a better oversight, plus they could drive the quality of service forward. The provider was committed to providing a good quality service to people. It was evident they followed their own philosophy which was to ‘stay small and provide local care to a high standard’. People, relatives and staff found the management team open, approachable and responsive and they trusted the provider.
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 Good (published 28 March 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned and announced inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The previous ‘good’ service provided to people had remained consistent.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
This service registered with us in July 2015 and had not been previously inspected. This was the first rating inspection.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff received training to safeguard people from abuse. They were supported by the registered manager, who ensured staff followed safeguarding protocols and procedures. Staff understood which actions to take in order to protect people from abuse. Risks to people’s safety were identified however, some risk assessments required more detail, especially those people identified at medium risk or higher. However, staff knew people’s current risks and how they should be managed. The registered manager agreed to improve people’s risk assessments so staff continued to provide consistent and safe care.
Some people were given their medicines by staff who were trained and assessed as competent to give medicines safely. Records showed people’s medicines were given in a timely way and as prescribed. Checks ensured medicines were managed safely and staff were observed by the registered manager and senior staff to ensure they were competent to do so.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs effectively, and people told us they had a consistent and small group of staff who supported them, which they appreciated. The provider had a thorough recruitment process which included pre-employment checks prior to staff starting work. This helped ensure their suitability to support people who lived in their own homes.
People told us staff sought their consent before undertaking any personal care tasks. Where people were able to make their own decisions, staff respected their right to do so. One person’s ability to make some of their decisions had been assessed by other health care professionals, but limited records confirmed the outcome of any mental capacity assessments. The staff team and the registered manager worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.
People and relatives told us staff treated them with dignity, kindness and respect. People’s privacy was maintained and people felt comfortable when staff supported them with personal care.
The registered manager and provider sought regular feedback from people and made improvements to ensure they were proactive in improving the service people received.
People saw health professionals when needed and the care and support provided was in line with what was recommended. People’s care records were written in a way which helped staff to deliver personalised care and gave staff information about people’s communication, mobility and preferences. Some care plan records required some improvements, such as more information about the person, and actions to take where risks where identified. People were involved in how their care and support was delivered.
People and relatives felt able to raise concerns with the registered manager and were confident they would be listened to and responded to in a timely way. Staff told us the provider, registered manager and office staff had an ‘open door’ and were approachable and responsive to ideas, suggestions and sharing concerns. There were systems to monitor the quality of the support provided.