Q1 Care Limited

Updated 25 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 2 August 2018. It was carried out by one inspector and was announced. 48 hours’ notice of the first inspection visit was given because the service is office based and we needed to be sure that the appropriate staff would be available to assist with the inspection. The inspection was delayed by seven working days due to an error in the address of the service. This had now been corrected. We were assisted on the day of our inspection by the manager, the provider and other office based staff.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This had been largely completed by the current manager. We looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included notifications the previous registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We looked at paperwork for five people who receive a service. This included support plans, daily notes and other documentation, such as medicine procedures. In addition, we looked at records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff recruitment and training records.

We spoke directly with two people who were being supported by the service and received nine written comments from people and/or their representatives after the inspection visit. On the day of the inspection we spent time with the manager, the chief operating officer, an administrator, the HR manager and the provider. We requested information from four external professionals closely involved with the service and received two replies. We spoke with one member of the care staff directly and received written comments from a further fifteen care staff members.

Updated 25 August 2018

This was an announced inspection which took place on 2 August 2018.

Q1Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It currently provides a regulated activity to people with a range of needs.

We carried out a focussed inspection on 5 July 2017 as a result of whistle blowing concerns raised directly with us. As a result we asked the provider to take action to make improvements with safe recruitment practices and effective deployment and communication with staff. We found at this inspection that appropriate action had been taken and they had improved to good in both key questions.

There was a manager running the service who had applied to be registered. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and staff were protected from harm and were kept as safe as possible. Staff had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. Staff knew how to protect the people in their care and understood what action they needed to take if they identified any concerns. General risks and risks to individuals were identified and action was taken to reduce them. People were supported to take their medicines safely (if they needed support in this area) and medicines given were recorded accurately. People were supported by care staff whose values and attitudes were monitored and who had been safely recruited.

People’s needs were met safely and effectively because there were enough staff who were given enough time to meet their identified needs. People were assisted by care staff who had been trained and supported to make sure they could meet people’s varied needs. Care staff were effective in addressing people’s needs as described in their care plans. The service worked closely with health and other professionals to ensure they were able to meet any specific health or social care needs.

People were assisted to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

A caring, kind and committed staff team provide people with compassionate care. Care staff built close relationships with people and knew their preferences and requirements. The management team and care staff were aware of people’s equality and diversity needs which were noted on care plans. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

People benefitted from a flexible service that responded quickly to individuals' current and changing needs and preferences. People’s needs were reviewed regularly to ensure the care provided was up-to-date. Care plans included information to ensure people’s individual communication needs were understood.

The manager was described as supportive, well organised and caring. The manager and the staff team were committed to embracing diversity and did not tolerate any form of discrimination. The service assessed, reviewed and improved the quality of care provided regularly.