Families Care

Updated 23 August 2022

Inspection team

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 one inspector and one 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, flats and specialist housing.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service almost 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or 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. 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 visited the service's office location on 29 June 2022. We spoke with five members of staff including the owner, who was also the manager, senior care staff and care staff. The Expert by Experience spoke with three people and eight relatives over the telephone to gain their views after the office visit.

Updated 23 August 2022

About the service

Families Care is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to people with dementia, older people, younger adults and people with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 24 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

People were kept safe. Policies were in place and staff knew how to keep people safe. There were enough safely recruited staff. People received medicines safely by trained staff. People were kept safe from the risk of infection by staff wearing suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and lessons were learned when things went wrong.

People had care plans which were reviewed regularly and adjusted in line with people’s needs. Staff received training. People were supported to have enough food and drink in line with their assessed needs. Staff worked closely with other organisations.

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.

People were treated with dignity, respect and kindness. People were involved in their care and felt listened to by staff and the manager. Staff promoted people’s independence.

People’s care plans were electronic and personalised and detailed. Staff accessed these while in people’s homes and could record any changes immediately. Complaints were dealt with appropriately by the manager. People who were receiving end of life care were supported by staff who had completed specialised end of life training and they worked with family and health professionals to ensure people were comfortable at this time.

People and staff felt the manager was supportive and approachable and felt confident issues would be dealt with appropriately. There were systems in place to support the manager to identify issues and these would then be dealt with promptly. The service worked in partnership with health and social care organisations.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 20 August 2019 and this is 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.