Background to this inspection
Updated
6 May 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service was not required to have a registered manager. The provider was also the manager.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
We visited the location’s office on 1 March and 8 March 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed all information we had received about 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 all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the provider, two people who use the service, three relatives and three staff members. We received written feedback from one health and social care professional. We looked at care records for four people. We looked at a range of records, including recruitment files for five staff and policies.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at further records which were sent to us electronically.
Updated
6 May 2022
About the service
Christie Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 16 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
The provider did not have systems in place to assess the risks to the health and safety of people receiving care and support.
The provider had a recruitment procedure in place which included seeking references, but the checks were not complete for some staff.
The provider had a training programme in place which included formal induction, moving and handling, health and safety and medicines administration. However, there were no induction records for two staff.
We were not assured that the provider’s infection prevention and control policy was up to date.
The provider did not have an effective system in place to monitor the overall quality of the service and therefore had not identified the concerns we found during the inspection.
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 systems in the service supported this practice.
The provider had systems in place designed to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. People were supported to take their medicines, and supported to eat and drink, if this was part of their care plan. Staff had a good supply of personal protective equipment, such as masks, aprons and gloves.
People’s needs were assessed to ensure the provider could meet people’s needs before they agreed to provide care and support. The service liaised with other professional teams to support peoples’ needs.
People were supported by staff who treated them well. People were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff told us they always asked for consent before they started to support someone. Staff received training in maintaining people’s privacy and dignity.
Care plans and assessments showed people had been involved in planning their care. Care plans showed a good level of detail regarding people’s needs and preferences. The manager understood the importance of providing information in ways people could understand.
People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about the care and support provided and felt able to talk to the provider about their care needs. People were involved in a review of their care and changes were made as necessary. The provider sought people’s views on the service provided, through telephone quality assurance calls and at their care reviews
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 5 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection so we could give this newly registered service a rating.
We found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.