Rift Solutions Limited

Updated 18 July 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection site visit activity started on 15 May 2018 and ended on 1 June 2018. We visited the office location on 15 and 18 May 2018 to meet with the registered provider, the registered manager and office staff and to review care records and policies and procedures. One inspector was present at the office on the first day of inspection, a second inspector was present on the second day. An assistant inspector supported the inspectors by speaking with three people who used the service and 11 relatives by telephone. One inspector also contacted staff who worked at the service by telephone.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We reviewed notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us since their registration. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted the local authorities that commission services from the provider to gain their views about the service. We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We looked at 11 records which related to people's individual care needs. We viewed five staff recruitment files, training records for all staff, and records associated with the management of the service. This included policies and procedures, people and staff feedback, and the complaints process.

Updated 18 July 2018

This was an unannounced inspection carried out on 15 and 18 May and 1 June 2018.

We last inspected Caremark (Leeds) in January 2017 when the service was rated 'Requires Improvement' overall. The key questions Effective and Well led were rated Requires Improvement. We identified one breach of regulation. We found that the provider's policy was not always followed to ensure mandatory training was arranged in a timely way. This had also been a breach of regulation at the previous inspection. We issued a warning notice for Regulation 18 Staffing of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 to the provider telling them they must improve.

Following our January 2017 inspection, the provider sent us an action plan detailing the changes and improvements they intended to make to improve the quality of service provided to people who used the service. We took this into account when planning this inspection to ensure these actions had been completed. At this inspection, we found the provider had made all the required improvements and addressed all our concerns that had been highlighted last time we visited.

Caremark (Leeds) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It can provide a service to people who may be living with dementia, younger disabled adults and children.

At the time of the inspection, 111 people were using the service. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Everyone using the service were being provided with 'personal care'.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff received effective training to meet people's needs. A comprehensive induction and training programme was completed by all staff. The provider had systems in place to ensure staff received support. This included supervision, observations of practice and annual appraisals. A detailed assessment was carried out to assess people's needs and preferences prior to them receiving a service. People were supported with their healthcare and nutritional needs as appropriate.

People using the service told us they felt safe. The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding, whistleblowing and how to report any concerns. Appropriate recruitment procedures were followed to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with people. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to maintain their independence and receive care safely. Staff understood best practice for reducing the risk of infection.

Staff knew people's needs well and people told us they liked staff and had developed good relationships with them. People and their relatives were involved as much as possible in the care planning process and their views were acted upon. People's dignity and privacy was respected and upheld and staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible.

People had access to a complaints procedure and were confident any concerns would be taken seriously and acted upon. Robust quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the service and make any improvements where required. This included seeking and responding to feedback from people and their relatives in relation to the standard of care and support they or their relative received.