Promises of Care

Updated 4 November 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by 1 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. This service also provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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 announced. 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 3 October 2023 and ended on 18 October 2023. We visited the location’s office on 16 October 2023.

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 3 people and 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 staff members, including 2 senior care workers. We also spoke with the deputy manager and the registered manager who is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records, these included 4 people’s care records, medicines administration records, as well as governance and quality assurance records. We also looked at 2 staff recruitment files.

Updated 4 November 2023

About the service

Promises of Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 31 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

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.

Some people experienced inconsistency in the timings of their support calls. People were supported by staff who knew how to identify and report concerns and there were systems in place to safeguard people from harm. Risks were assessed and management safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. Staff follow guidance to reduce the risk of cross infection and PPE was available for their use. Staff had been safely recruited.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving care. Staff received training to ensure they were able to meet people’s needs. People were supported to manage and maintain their health. 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 and relatives spoke positively about how they were treated by staff. People felt staff supported them with kindness and dignity.

People received care in line with their current needs. Any changes to people’s needs were recorded in care plans and shared with staff to ensure people received responsive care. People’s communication needs had been considered and staff were aware of how to support people’s communication so they were able to express their views and experiences. People knew how to raise concerns and there was a complaints process in place which included learning from concerns and events.

People, relatives, and staff had been asked for their feedback about their experiences. The management team then took action to address any concerns raised about people’s care and support. Improvements had been made to the governance arrangements which meant management oversight had increased which had improved the quality of care people received. Staff and the management team worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people’s need were met.

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 requires improvement (published 2 September 2022).

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider ensured that where people have a specific medical condition they seek training from a reputable provider and check the effectiveness of that training with their staff. At this inspection we found staff had now received training relating to people’s medical needs and had the knowledge required to safely support people.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the conditions applied to the provider’s registration.

Follow up

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