Cavalry Healthcare

Updated 27 September 2022

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 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 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, however they were absent on leave. A covering manager was in place.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also wanted time to obtain contact details of people who used the service and relatives, where appropriate.

Inspection activity started on 2 August 2022 and ended on 9 August 2022. We visited the office location on 4 August 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. 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

We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and four relatives. We spoke with six members of staff including the manager and complex care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 27 September 2022

About the service

Cavalry Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people living in their own homes, so they can live as independently as possible. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 16 people with personal care.

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

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.

Right support: People’s independence was truly respected and promoted.

Right care: People received exceptional care that was tailored to their needs and wishes. People's wider needs, history and choices were considered when their care was planned.

Right culture: There was an extremely strong, person-centred culture. People received care from very caring, compassionate and highly motivated staff who were proud to work for the service. People and their relatives experienced a positive and inclusive approach to their care and were encouraged to give their feedback to help improve the service.

Feedback from people and relatives was overwhelmingly positive. They consistently praised the exceptional caring and supportive nature of the staff at Cavalry Healthcare. People and their relatives told us the support from the service had increased their confidence, wellbeing and independence.

Relatives told us they were true partners in this process and staff's focus was consistently on their family member's wishes and needs. Staff had a clear understanding of what mattered to people and supported them by advocating with other organisations so they would enjoy the best life possible.

People were provided with the support to live their lives in their chosen way, free from discrimination. People felt staff respected their backgrounds and choices and provided care in a respectful manner.

Risks to people's health and wellbeing were assessed and plans were in place to monitor people and to assist them in a safe manner. Staff knew how to support people safely, including the use of equipment to assist them to move. Staff were supported and trained to ensure they had the skills to support people effectively. They understood how to protect people from harm and were confident any concerns they raised, would be reported and investigated by the management team.

Medication was managed safely by trained and competent staff. Medication administration records (MARs) were fully completed and regularly reviewed. Staff had been recruited safely and there were enough staff to effectively meet the current packages of care which supported people's needs.

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 felt staff supported them to have a good quality of life.

The service was well-led. There was an extremely positive and open culture that ensured people were at the centre of everything the service did. People, relatives and staff told us that management were approachable. Audits and checks were completed regularly to monitor the quality and safety of the service. There were clear processes in place to drive improvement and to continually develop the service in line with people’s needs.

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 26/03/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection for this newly registered service.

Follow up

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