7 January 2020
During a routine inspection
Care Connect Homecare Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection there were 85 people using the service, 75 of them were receiving personal care.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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
People told us they felt safe and were happy with the service they received. They said staff were kind, caring and friendly. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood how to protect people from abuse. Recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable to work for the agency. There were enough numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs in a punctual, consistent and flexible way and to ensure their safety. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. We found the management of ‘as needed’ and external medicines was not consistent, however, the provider recognised the shortfalls and additional improvements were being made in relation to the process and to the auditing tool. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive support with minimum risk to themselves or others. Accidents and incidents were monitored and infection control processes were managed well.
People were given 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. People’s care and support needs were assessed prior to them using the service to ensure their needs could be met. Staff received ongoing training, supervision and support. People were supported at mealtimes in line with their support plan and staff worked in partnership with healthcare professionals, when needed.
Management and staff had developed friendly, caring and respectful relationships with people using the service and their families. People’s care was tailored to their needs and staff knew about their routines and preferences. People, or their family members, had been consulted about their care needs and had been involved in the care planning process. People had access to activities if this was in line with their care plan. People knew how to raise any complaints, concerns and compliments.
Improvements were being made to the way the quality of the service was monitored in areas such as medicines management and record keeping. When any shortfalls were noted, appropriate action had been taken. Staff received support from management team and they felt valued. People’s views and opinions of the service were sought and acted on.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 8 September 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.