UK Home Care Limited - Carshalton office

Updated 7 December 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an 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 houses and flats.

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

We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration with the Care Quality Commission. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager. We were not able to speak with people who used the service. We spoke with six relatives of people using the service. All staff were sent a questionnaire and we received feedback from five members of staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included care records for two people. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and quality of the service, were reviewed.

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 using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

Inspection activity started on 27 September 2022 and ended on 17 November 2022.

Updated 7 December 2022

About the service

UK Home Care Limited is a care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection six people were 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

People and/or their relatives told us they received good quality care. Staff were recruited following safe processes and there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s assessed care and support needs. Staff completed an induction that helped them to understand their roles and people they would support. Staff had ongoing training and support.

Medicines were managed safely. Staff were trained and competent to administer medicines. Staff maintained medicine administration records and these were reviewed and checked for accuracy.

People had assessments that identified their care and support needs and any risks related to their health and well-being. A risk management plan was in place that provided staff with detailed guidance on how to support people safely to reduce those risks. Any changes in care and support were shared with care workers. Care records were routinely updated and reviewed.

Staff understood abuse and had completed safeguarding training on abuse and knew how to protect people from abuse and report concerns.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the service and the quality of care. The registered manager regularly reviewed the service to ensure people received care and support that was of a good standard. People and their relatives were asked for their feedback on the care provided.

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.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

We registered this service on 25 January 2019 and this was the first inspection.

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.