The Care Workshop Limited

Updated 22 February 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

This inspection was completed by an 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 homes.

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 24 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.

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 visited the office to review how people’s confidential information was stored and to review documentation. We looked at 4 staff files and documents relating to the care of 5 people. We spoke to 9 people who use the service, 4 relatives and 7 staff members including the registered manager. We also looked at staffing rotas, training and supervision information, and records used to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 22 February 2023

About the service

The Care Workshop Limited is a domiciliary care service providing a regulated activity of personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people living with conditions including dementia, adults with a learning disability and older adults.

Not everyone who used the service received a regulated activity. The Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of our inspection, there were 17 people receiving a regulated activity from the service.

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

People received their medicines as prescribed. We found people’s care plans relating to ‘as and when’ medicines such as pain relief, did not always guide staff appropriately. We have made a recommendation about people’s ‘as and when required’ medicines.

Staff had some knowledge around the Mental Capacity Act and told us they always asked for consent from people. 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.

Staff provided people with good quality, person-centred care and people were protected from avoidable harm. The provider had an effective safeguarding procedure in place to manage safeguarding concerns promptly.

Staff were kind and caring. People and their relatives were happy with the care they received. One person said, “The staff have all been very helpful, very kind and nothing is too much trouble.”

Staff were aware of risks to people’s safety and wellbeing and how to manage them. Staff told us they felt supported in their role and received regular supervision, training and an induction when they started. There were sufficient staff to ensure people received punctual care which was not rushed.

Staff promoted people's choices and treated people with respect. Care plans guided staff to deliver effective care as they were detailed and personalised.

People and their relatives were asked for their views and knew how to raise a complaint if they needed to do so. Overall, the governance systems in place were effective and supported the staff to provide effective care.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 1 December 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

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