UK Star Care Ltd

Updated 3 February 2021

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

The inspection was conducted by one inspector. An Expert by Experience supported the inspection by making telephone calls to people who used the service. 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.

The service had a manager 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 18 January 2021 and ended on 19 January 2021. We visited the office location on 19 January 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we held about the provider, including the last inspection report, the provider's action plan and notifications of significant events.

We contacted representatives of Surrey County Council to ask for their feedback about the service.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and the relatives of five other people. We received feedback from three care workers. We met the registered manager and other management staff in the agency offices. We looked at the care records for five people who used the service and medicines records for two other people. We looked at recruitment, training and support records for five members of staff. We looked at other records used for managing the service such as records relating to medicines management, policies and procedures, complaints, incidents and accidents and quality monitoring.

Updated 3 February 2021

About the service

Vista Business Centre, known as UK Star Care Ltd, is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes. People using the service lived in the county of Surrey. At the time of our inspection 35 people were using the service. The service was registered to provide care to younger and older adults, including people with physical and learning disabilities, people living with the experience of dementia and people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection, they were providing care to both older and younger adults.

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 using the service were happy with the care and support they received. They told us their needs were met by kind and considerate staff. They had been involved in planning and reviewing their own care, and the agency was responsive when their needs changed.

Care workers had enough time to care for people safely and well. There were appropriate systems for recruiting, training and supporting staff and they felt happy working for the agency. The provider undertook regular checks to make sure staff were suitable and were meeting people's needs.

People's care was planned in a suitable way. Care plans were clear and gave details about their preferences and needs. Risks to their safety and wellbeing had been assessed and planned for. The staff liaised with other healthcare professionals to make sure people received holistic care and support. People received their medicines as prescribed and in a safe way.

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 provider had systems for dealing with accidents, incidents, complaints and safeguarding concerns. They took steps to help make sure people were safe and investigated any concerns, feeding back to people using the service and others. They made changes to improve the service and learn from things that had gone wrong.

There were effective systems for managing the service, including monitoring and improving quality, asking stakeholders for feedback and auditing how care was provided. The registered manager was suitably qualified and experienced and worked with a team of other senior staff who knew people's needs and regularly engaged with them, asking them for feedback about their experiences.

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 requires improvement (published 4 December 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do, and by when, to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and to follow up on the action we had asked the provider to take.

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.