C & S Homecare Limited

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 site visit was carried out by 1 inspector. An Expert by Experience also supported the inspection by contacting people, and their relatives, by phone, to obtain feedback on the service people received. 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.

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

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 registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

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 also used information previously gathered as part of monitoring activity which took place on 6 September 2023. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people and 10 family members of people who use the service. We spoke with the registered manager and administrator at the provider’s office. We received feedback from 13 care staff. We reviewed 3 staff recruitment files and elements of 4 people’s care plans and risk assessments. We reviewed various care records and copies of the provider’s policies and procedures. We also received feedback from an external social care professional who had regular contact with the service.

Updated 4 November 2023

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.

About the service

C & S Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care at home services. The service mainly provides support to older people but can also support people who have learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people receiving a personal care service from C & S Homecare Limited.

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

Right Support

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people could maintain their independence as far as possible. Staff communicated with people in ways which met their needs. Staff supported people with their medicines in a safe way and supported people to access community health services when necessary.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over the care they received from the provider 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.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply their knowledge. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People’s risk assessments and care plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

Right Culture

People received good quality care, support, and treatment because trained staff could meet their needs and wishes. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs, and rights at the heart of everything they did. People, and those important to them, were involved in planning their care.

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 21 August 2018).

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check whether the previous rating was still accurate, given the length of time since the last inspection. We reviewed the key questions of Safe and Well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained Good, based on the findings of this inspection

Follow up

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