23 January 2020
During a routine inspection
Corcare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to predominantly older people living in their own homes throughout Cornwall. The service was set up to provide home care support for people living in rural areas not covered by other care agencies. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to approximately 72 people.
People’s experience of using this service
People and their relatives told us they received a reliable service, had agreed the times of their visits and were kept informed of any changes. People felt safe using the service and staff treated them in a caring and respectful manner. Comments included, “You can’t fault their care”, “I have faith in Corcare and feel safe with them” and “We are very satisfied with the service.”
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.
Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. Care plans were personalised to the individual and recorded details about each person’s specific needs and wishes. These were kept under regular review and updated as people’s needs changed.
People were supported to access healthcare services, staff recognised changes in people's health, and sought professional advice appropriately.
The service’s rotas were well organised and there were enough staff available to provide all planned care visits. A mobile phone call monitoring application was used to ensure all visits were provided and to share information securely with staff. No one reported having experienced a missed care visit.
The service had been working with the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust by taking additional packages to help with the increased number of hospital discharges, to assist with winter pressures. During the winter of 2018/19 the service had been provided with agency staff to create additional capacity. At the last inspection we found the way this additional work was being managed had impacted on the service’s overall performance and reliability.
At this inspection we found the service was in the process of managing another group of agency workers to increase the service‘s capacity to accept hospital discharges. We found lessons had been learnt from the previous project and this additional work was being well managed by a dedicated team.
Staff were recruited safely and they received regular supervision and support from management. New staff completed an induction which involved training and a period of shadowing more experienced staff. Training was regularly updated so staff were aware of any changes in working practices.
There was a positive culture in the service and management and staff were committed to ensuring people received a good service. Staff told us they were well supported and had a good working relationship with each other and the management team.
People, their relatives and staff told us management were approachable and they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to the service.
There were clear processes for management to check the quality of all aspects of the service. The provider had a defined organisational management structure and there was regular oversight and input from senior management.
The full details can be found on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (report published 14 March 2019) and there was a breach of regulations. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.