Crediton Care Services Limited

Updated 3 August 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 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by one inspector and an Expert by Experience with experience of care of older people. 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post who was also the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. The provider was given short notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 27 June 2023 when we visited the location’s office and ended on 29 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the provider and a member of staff. We reviewed a range of records including records relating to the care and support provided. We reviewed additional records which included staff files in relation to recruitment, and various audits/reports relating to the quality and safety of the service.

After the inspection

After our visit we continued to seek feedback from people using the service, relatives and staff to obtain their views of the service provided to people. We received feedback from 10 people using the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with a further 3 staff members. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 3 August 2023

About the service

Crediton Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care service supporting adults in the community who require personal care in the Crediton area. 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 there were 20 people using the service who received personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe with staff, however the provider had failed to operate effective safeguarding procedures and escalate concerns in line with their policy. Recruitment processes were not consistently in line with legal requirements. This placed people at risk.

The governance systems in operation at the service had not identified that policy and legal requirements had not been followed evidencing they were not fully effective.

People had care plans in place and the people and relatives we spoke with told us the care provided to them met their needs. We identified that care records required further development to support staff in managing known risks and identify when escalation may be required.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. The provider was currently experiencing staffing challenges and as a result has returned some care packages. At the time of our inspection Crediton Care Services Limited was not taking on any further packages. People told us they received the required level of support with their medicines and told us staff supported them whilst wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.

People commented very positively on the caring nature of staff and the support they received. People said they were involved in choices and decisions regarding their care and support and that their independence was promoted. A person we spoke with told us, “They are excellent. They are conversational, kind and caring. They have built a good liaison with me. They respect me as a person.”

Without exception, every person and relative we spoke with told us they would recommend the service to others. Staff told us they were happy in their jobs and were keen to make a positive difference in people’s lives. There was positive feedback from people, relatives and staff about 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 26 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the elapsed time since the service was last inspected.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to safeguarding, recruitment and good governance.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow Up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. 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.