1st for Care (GB) Ltd

Updated 26 October 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency and community healthcare service. It provides personal care and treatment for a disease, disorder or injury to people living in their own homes.

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 23 August 2019 and ended on 6 September 2019. We visited the office location on 23 August 2019 and contacted people by telephone and email to gather their views between 29 August 2019 and 6 September 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records at the service offices. This included the care records for the person who received personal care and two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We contacted the person who used the service and their relative to gather their views. We also spoke with two staff members by telephone to gather their views of the service.

Updated 26 October 2019

About the service

1st for Care (GB) Ltd provides the regulated activities of personal care and treatment for disease, disorder or injury to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care or treatment. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating or treatment for a disease, disorder or injury which is provided by a health care professional. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection one person was receiving personal care. The service provided personal assistants who worked in people’s homes.

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

People were safe and protected from abuse. They were supported by a small team of staff who they knew. The registered manager checked new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in people’s homes. The staff were trained in how to provide people’s care in a safe way.

The staff were skilled and competent to provide people’s support. A relative told us, “I am really happy with the standard of care we receive.” The staff gave people the help they needed to enjoy their meals and drinks. The registered manager assessed the support people required to ensure the service was suitable to meet their needs. The staff included people in decisions about their care and respected people’s rights. 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 in a kind and caring way. People valued the service and the support the staff provided. A relative said, “I feel they [staff] really care about us.” The staff treated people with respect and helped them to maintain their independence and dignity.

The service provided people with personalised care that met their needs and took account of their wishes. The registered manager developed people’s care plans with them. If people requested changes to the planned care the registered manager tried to agree to the requested change. People knew how they could complain about the service. The registered manager had links with specialist services she could contact to support people as they reached the end of their lives.

People told us this was a good service and said they would recommend it. A relative told us, “This is by far the best [service] we have used.” The staff felt well supported and told us they would recommend the service as a good place to work. The registered manager asked people for their views to identify how the service could improve. The staff worked with other appropriate services to ensure people consistently received care to meet their needs.

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 24 February 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.