13 November 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Domiciliary Care Services (UK) Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Medicines were not always managed safely. People's risk assessments and care plans were not always detailed. We found no evidence anyone had been harmed but this had put some people at risk of potential harm. There were quality assurance systems in place. However, not all the provider's audits were effective. The provider had not previously identified the issues we found.
People’s care plans were not always person-centred however, people were positive about the support they received from staff. We have recommended the provider reviews documentation to ensure it is person-centred. Staff worked in partnership with other organisations and services to provide people's care and support. There were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. People and relatives told us they/their family member were safe being supported by staff.
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’s ability to consent to care was considered, however records detailing how a person’s capacity was assessed were not clear. We have recommended the provider reviews their processes for recording how capacity was assessed.
Feedback was gathered through surveys and meetings. Staff felt supported and valued. People told us staff supported them with dignity and respect. Feedback from people and their families about the service was mostly complimentary.
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 23 August 2019).
Why we inspected
We inspected this service due to the length of time since the previous inspection.
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 changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Domiciliary Care Services (UK) Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
We have made recommendations that the provider reviews their recording processes to ensure records are person-centred and also reflect how a person's mental capacity is assessed.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.