Community Care Worker Limited

Updated 23 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

During this inspection we spoke to 10 people who used the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with 11 staff members, including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior carers and care staff. We also spoke to the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We looked at 4 care files, medicine administration records, 4 recruitment records and other records used by the service as part of the day to day management of the service.

Updated 23 May 2023

About the service

Community Care Worker is a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity of personal care to people living in their own home. The service provides support to older persons and people living with dementia. The service can also support people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism and/or mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 48 people using the service.

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

The processes in place to keep people safe had improved since the last inspection. Risks to people’s safety were being considered and the majority of concerns found at the last inspection had been addressed. For example, there was now a process in place to monitor people’s skin integrity.

Improvements had been made to call times and we received no reports of missed calls. Some people reported call times were not always exact. However, we found the majority of the calls deemed late, were within the thresholds set by the local authority. People received more consistent staff support and staff now worked within specific geographical areas which they told us was much better. Processes were in place to ensure medicine errors were investigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

People were supported by sufficient staff who had been recruited following receipt of satisfactory references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. We discussed the recruitment records with the provider and recommended any preliminary recruitment activities were also recorded to ensure there was a complete timeline of events. For example, telephone conversations. Staff were knowledgeable on infection control and had access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

Staff told us they received regular training, but staff were completing a lot of training in one day. Although the provider gave further assurances regarding how training was managed, we recommended the provider took steps to ensure all learning was recorded and it was clear when staff had been assessed as competent.

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 care needs were assessed. People were supported with mealtimes and referred to health services, if needed.

The provider had improved the governance of the service and involved other agencies in driving improvements. The staff team engaged well with people, although a number of people told us there was an occasional language barrier, especially with new staff but all staff were polite. The provider engaged with people to gather their feedback. However not all persons felt they have been contacted. We recommended the provider engage with everyone to ensure their feedback can be gathered and acted upon as necessary.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the last inspection staff told us they had received training in learning disabilities and autism but did not feel confident. At the time of this inspection, the location did not support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. We will revisit this area on our next inspection to ensure the service is meeting the principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.

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 Inadequate (published 20 September 2022).

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 24 September 2021. During this inspection, the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider 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 Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Community Care Worker on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We have recommended the provider ensures their training records and recruitment records are reviewed to ensure all relevant information is being recorded. We have also recommended all people who use the service are engaged in the quality monitoring process to ensure their feedback is gathered and actions can be taken as needed.

Follow up

We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.