Baxter Life Care Limited

Updated 6 October 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 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience. 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 homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 26 June 2023 and ended on 11 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 26 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 5 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed multiple medicine administration records, 3 people's care records and looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 6 October 2023

About the service

Baxter Life Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people using the service. 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

The service was not always safe. We found care records were not always accurate. Where risks to people were identified recorded documentation to lessen the risk was, at times, conflicting. We found concerns with medicine records and the management of people’s medicines. We found there was not a structured, systematic, effective approach to assess and monitor the service to identify shortfalls and drive improvements.

We have made recommendation about oversight of feedback from people who use the service.

The provider followed safe systems for staff recruitment. We received consistent feedback from people who felt safe with the care staff. One person told us, “The company gives me good support and we have a laugh and a joke." People told us they received visits from care staff who they were familiar with.

People we spoke with were complimentary about the service. There was a positive staff culture at the service and staff were happy in their roles. One staff member told us, “This is the best community care company I have worked for.”

We found the management team receptive to feedback and keen to improve the service. The registered manager and provider worked with us in a positive manner and the information we requested were received in a timely manner.

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 requires improvement (published 14 September 2021). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider reviewed their risk management systems and documentation. At this inspection we found this recommendation had not been completed. We found care documentation did not include all the information staff required to lesson risks to people.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focussed inspection of this service on 14 September 2021. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Baxter Life Care Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a continued breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Full information about CQC's regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.