Care XY

Updated 15 January 2022

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 13 December 2021 and ended on 16 December 2021. This involved speaking with people, their relatives and staff. We visited the office location on 13 December 2021.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the local authority to get their view of the service provided. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, care assessors and co-ordinators and care staff. We spoke with two people who used the service, four relatives about their experience of the care provided and two social care professionals. We also read four recent compliments from named relatives. We reviewed a range of records this included two people’s care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 15 January 2022

About the service

Care XY is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs in their own houses and flats. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 133 people with personal care.

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.

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

Safeguarding procedures were utilised to minimise people being at risk of abuse. People, relatives and staff confirmed the support provided promoted safety to people. Many people received support from regular staff. However, some people received support from a number of different staff. Staff had received medicine training and their competence was assessed to ensure they were following safe medicine practices. Infection control training had been delivered to staff. Staff confirmed the Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] they wore. Relatives told us that staff wore PPE when entering their family member’s home.

Staff were aware of the needs of individuals and were able to support people well. Staff supported some people with their meals and drinks and to access healthcare support where this was needed. People were supported by staff to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff knew they must not restrict people. Policies and systems used supported this practice.

Staff had good knowledge about the people they supported. People's independence was promoted, and their dignity was upheld.

A needs assessment was undertaken to understand people’s situations, needs and wishes. People and their relatives were encouraged to be involved in the review of their care and support.

Systems were used for people and their relatives to give feedback about the care and support they or their family member received. Feedback methods included, care reviews, the spot checks of staff performance, telephone and video calls. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and they were supported and appreciated by 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

The last rating for this service was good (published 04/07/2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified.

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.