Responsive Care

Updated 14 January 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide 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. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 no registered manager in post. However, the provider had submitted an application form to CQC for manager registration.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about this service, which had been collected via our ongoing monitoring of care services. This included notifications sent to us by the service. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We received feedback from three relatives of people who used the service to help us understand the experience of people who could not speak with us. We also received feedback from one person using the service. We spoke with the service director, manager, care coordinator and received feedback from three care workers. We reviewed the care records of four people using the service, personnel files of four care workers and other records about the management of the service.

Updated 14 January 2023

About the service

Responsive Care is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were four people using the service. 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 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 were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks. Care workers had been recruited safely and they knew how to identify and report concerns. Feedback from people and their relatives showed care workers arrived for work on time.

People received person centred care. Their assessments showed they had been involved in the assessment process. Support plans described how people should be supported so that their privacy and dignity were upheld.

Care workers demonstrated good knowledge and skills necessary for their role. People’s health needs were met. The service worked with a range of external professionals, so people received coordinated care.

People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service had processes in place to reduce the risk of infection and cross contamination.

There were governance structures and systems which were regularly reviewed. There was a complaints procedure in place, which people’s relatives were aware of. Quality assurance processes such as audits and spot checks, were used to drive improvements.

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 the service under the previous provider was good, published on 26 May 2017.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection scheduling.

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.