New Care Services & Cornerstone

Updated 10 October 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.

This was a targeted inspection to check on a concern we had about the recruitment of new care staff.

Inspection team

Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

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 9 staff. These included, the managing director, operations director, operations manager, human resources staff, 1 trainer and care staff. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the recruitment of 6 staff, and training data.

Updated 10 October 2023

About the service

New Care Services & Cornerstone provides personal care to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 62 people were receiving personal care.

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

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks to people’s safety were identified and managed. There were enough staff to keep people safe and to meet their needs. The provider had systems to monitor the safety of the service and took action where they identified issues. They ensured lessons were learnt from any safety incidents. People received the support they needed to take their medicines safely.

The manager assessed people’s needs and people received the support they required. The staff were skilled and competent to provide people’s care. They provided people with the support they needed to enjoy their meals and drinks. 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.

The staff treated people with respect and were caring towards them. The staff spoke about people in a respectful way and promoted their independence, privacy and dignity. The staff and manager asked people for their views about the care provided and respected the decisions people made.

Care was planned and provided to meet people’s needs. The staff provided people with personalised care that met their needs and took account of their wishes. The provider had a procedure for receiving and managing complaints about the service. People received the support they needed at the end of their lives.

The provider had developed a positive culture and people received person-centred care that met their needs. The provider and manager monitored the quality of the service and had identified areas which could be further improved. People were asked about their views and knew how to contact a member of the management team. The staff worked cooperatively with other services to ensure people received the care they required.

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

Rating at last inspection: The last rating for this service was good (published 3 July 2017).

Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.