BBC Care Service Limited

Updated 5 July 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 two inspectors.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or 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 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 4 relatives of the people about their experience as people did not wish or were not able to provide feedback themselves. We spoke with 4 members of staff including the registered manager and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people's care plans and medicines records for people supported with their medicines. We looked at recruitment checks and training records for 5 staff members. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, audits and action plans were also reviewed.

Updated 5 July 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

About the service

BBC Care Service Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 5 people at the time of the inspection. The agency supported people with different physical and health related support needs, older people and people living with dementia.

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

Right Support

The provider did not always follow effective processes around safeguarding people. However, staff knew how to recognise and report concerns to the registered manager and people’s relatives told us they trusted staff and felt their loved ones were safe with staff.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported good practice but were not yet fully embedded into practice. Staff did not always follow the MCA Code of Practice when obtaining people’s consent or assessing their mental capacity.

People received support around their individual risks and needs and staff knew them well. Staff supported people with their medicines in a safe way and knew how to protect people from infections. Where needed, staff knew how to support people around their eating and drinking or contacting healthcare services.

Staff were recruited safely and visited people to provide care as planned. Staff received appropriate training and support and continued to develop their skills. People’s relatives found staff to be professional and competent.

Right Culture

The registered manager worked on improving the service and their oversight of the quality and safety of the care people received with assistance from an external and independent support. Not all changes had been successfully embedded. The provider did not always identify outstanding actions and possible concerning issues. For example, around how safeguarding was considered when analysing events in the service, what information was missing from people’s care plans to ensure person-cantered care or how effective was their monitoring of staff attendance on care visits.

Staff and people using the service represented by their families were complimentary about the culture of the service. They told us they felt involved and listened to. The service worked with healthcare professionals and social services to ensure people received the support they needed timely.

Right Care:

People received personalised support, but areas such as life stories, wishes around advanced care planning or their interests and preferences had not been fully assessed in their care plans yet.

People’s relatives told us staff knew people well and treated them in a caring and kind way. Staff respected people’s homes, families and their individual capabilities and treated them with kindness. Staff knew how to communicate with people effectively.

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 inadequate (published 13 January 2023).

At this inspection we found some improvements had been made but the provider remained in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 31 May 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that some improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on breaches of the regulations identified at the last inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make further improvements.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safeguarding, how the provider adhered to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 requirements and 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 work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.