About the service:1st Class Care Services2 Ltd is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It primarily supports older people and those living with dementia. 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, 36 people were using the service, 26 of whom were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe and comfortable receiving care from staff in their homes. Staff understood how to identify and report potential abuse involving people who used the service. The risks associated with people’s individual care needs had been assessed and managed. People received a reliable and punctual service from staff who had undergone pre-employment checks to ensure they were suitable to support them. People had support to take and manage their medicines safely, where they needed this. Staff and management took steps to protect people from infections. Management sought to learn from any accidents or incidents involving people who used the service to keep them safe.
People’s individual needs were assessed before their care started. Staff received an appropriate induction, training and ongoing management support to enable them to work safely and effectively. People had support to prepare meals and drinks where they needed this. Staff monitored people’s general health and wellbeing, and helped them seek professional medical advice if they were unwell. Staff and management worked effectively with community health and social care professionals to ensure people’s individual needs were met. 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.
Staff and management treated people with kindness and compassion and helped them to express their views on the care they received. Staff understood the importance of promoting people’s right to privacy and dignity.
People’s care plans were individual to them, provided clear guidance on their care needs and were read and followed by staff. People and their relatives were clear how to complain about the service, and felt comfortable doing so.
The management team promoted a positive, open culture within the service. Staff felt valued and well-supported in their work and were clear what was expected of them. People felt able to approach management at any time and had confidence any issues or concerns would be addressed. The provider had quality assurance systems and processes in place to enable them to assess, monitor and improve people's care.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 26 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.