Clifton Care Services Limited

Updated 9 September 2022

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken 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.

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.

Notice of inspection

In line with our new approach we gave short period notice of this inspection and explained what was involved under the new methodology. Inspection activity took place on 9th and 11th August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location's office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people and relatives using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

We spoke with four relatives, three care staff, the office administrator and the registered manager. People using the service were not able to speak with us due to their care needs. We reviewed records relating to the care provided, staffing and the management of the service.

Updated 9 September 2022

About the service

Clifton Care Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes or flats. The domiciliary care agency is registered to provide a service to people over and under the age of 65 years old, some of whom are living with dementia. 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 the inspection, four people were using the service.

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

Improvements had been made since our last inspection in October 2019. People's experience of care was consistently monitored by staff to ensure they received a good service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. However, further work was required to strengthen the provider's quality assurance framework. The provider's quality assurance checks did not consistently identify shortfalls or recognise how improvements could be made. We have made a recommendation for improvement

Staff received training and regular support to be effective in their roles. Staff supported people to access the healthcare services they needed to maintain good health. People and their relatives praised the care delivered. They commented that they liked the way staff provided care and support which met their needs. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

People were enabled to retain their independence by being encouraged and supported to do the things for themselves, that they still could. This promoted their self-worth and improved their quality of life.

Staff understood their responsibility to identify and report potential abuse to keep people safe. Risk assessment and management enabled staff to minimise the risk of harm to people. People's medicines were managed safely. Staff practiced safe infection control and prevention procedures to reduce the spread of infection. Relatives spoke highly of how management and staff had provided support during the height of the pandemic. Safe recruitment practices and robust induction ensured new staff were suitable to provide care.

People's needs were assessed and regularly reviewed to ensure staff delivered appropriate care to them. People and their relatives felt confident to raise concerns about their care and knew the process about how to make a complaint.

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 20 November 2019) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.