Archived: Clover Carers Ltd

Updated 6 November 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This 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 had a manager [who was also the provider], was in the process of applying to become registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

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.

Inspection activity started on 22 October 2019 and ended on 23 October 2019. We visited the office location on 23 October 2019.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

During the inspection-

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, manager, the nominated individual and care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

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 training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 6 November 2019

About the service

Clover Carers Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 24 people in their own homes and flats. At the time of our inspection 17 people were receiving a 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

People felt they were provided with safe care. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and had raised concerns where necessary. Risk to people's health and safety had been assessed and measures had been put in place to mitigate those identified.

There were enough numbers of safely recruited staff deployed to meet people's collective needs. Staff managed people's medicines safely and ensured infection control policies and procedures were followed.

People’s physical, mental and social needs had been assessed as part of their care/ support plan.

Staff told us they were well trained, to equip them to carry out their role.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were treated with dignity and respect. Care planning was personalised, and people’s communication needs were assessed, so information was in an accessible format.

The service was well managed and well led. There was an open and inclusive culture and the manager, and the nominated individual led by example. There was a clear management structure and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Quality auditing processes including spot checks on staff ensured a good standard of care and any shortfalls could be identified.

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 Good (published19 April 2017).

Why we inspected

We have used the previous rating of Good to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.