We carried out a review of the data available to us about Care at Home (Midlands) Ltd on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Care at Home (Midlands) Ltd, you can give feedback on this service.
Care at Home (Midlands) is a service that provides personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection approximately 150 people were using the service.
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
People and relatives said the staff provided safe, good quality care. They told us the staff were caring, efficient and kind and they got on well with them. A relative said, “Everyone is very friendly, all of them start talking the minute they come through the door [and] they all make sure it is a safe and nice and comfortable routine for [family member].”
People were risk assessed when they began using the service and staff knew how to keep them safe. Staff provided personalised care and were knowledgeable about people's preferences as to how they wanted their care provided.
Some people and relatives were satisfied with the timelines of their calls, but others said staff were late on occasions. The provider said the service had done it’s best to get to people on time during the COVID-19 pandemic and staff would continue to strive to be as punctual as possible.
Staff protected people from the spread of infection. They were trained in infection prevention and control and used the required personal protective equipment including masks, gloves, aprons and visors as necessary. The provider kept staff up to date with any improvements or changes to infection control policies and procedures.
The provider audited all aspects of the service to help ensure people were receiving good quality, safe care. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people’s, relatives’ and staff’s views were collected by phone. The staff worked in partnership with local health and social care professionals to ensure people accessed services they were entitled to.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 May 2019). At this inspection we found improvements had been made.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider continued to meet legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has improved to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Care at Home (Midlands) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Care at Home Midlands Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. On the day of our inspection they were providing care for 178 people.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ People were not consistently safe. The provider did not always ensure people received their care as planned or delivered by regular staff.
¿ The provider had not ensured all people’s experience of the service had been obtained.
¿ People knew how to make complaints but these were not always resolved satisfactorily. Where improvements were made these were not always sustained.
¿ Reviews of people’s care and support were not routinely carried out.
¿ People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way and people were involved in decisions about their care.
¿ Risks to people were assessed and mitigated. Systems and processes safeguarded people from abuse. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection and their medicines were managed safely. People were supported to eat and drink to support their well-being.
¿ People were treated with kindness and compassion. The culture of the service was positive and person centred. Staff communicated with people according to their individual needs and people’s independence was promoted and their dignity respected.
¿ Staff were supported with regular supervision, staff meetings and training. Staff told us they felt supported. New staff were recruited using safe procedures and were supported with an induction to the service.
¿ Staff worked well together and they shared information when necessary and people’s confidentiality was respected.
¿ The provider demonstrated working well with other agencies to improve care.
¿The service met the characteristics for a rating of “requires improvement” in three of the five key questions we inspected and a rating of “good” in two. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “requires improvement”.
Rating at last inspection: GOOD (Report published 01 August 2016)
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated requires improvement.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Care at Home Midlands is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes. The office is based in Ratby in Leicestershire. The service provide support to people living in Leicestershire and surrounding towns and villages. They support people with a variety of care needs.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were safe when they used the services of Care at Home Midlands. Staff supported them to keep safe from abuse and avoidable harm. They reported any concerns they had about people’s welfare to the registered manager who dealt with their concerns appropriately.
People’s records included comprehensive risk assessment which guided staff to provide care in a safe manner whilst promoting people’s independence.
The provider had safe recruitment practices. They completed relevant pre-employment checks which assured them that staff were safe to work with people who used the service. There was sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs safely. Staff were available for the full duration of their agreed support time.
Staff did not consistently complete people’s medication administration records (MAR) charts to show that they had supported them to take their medicines. However, we saw that the provider had identified this issue and had implemented new protocols to address this and support staff to fulfil this task.
Staff had the relevant skills and experience that they required to provide effective care to people. They had access to a comprehensive training which included training required to meet the specific needs of people that used the service.
People were supported in accordance to relevant legislation and guidance. Staff sought people’s consent before they provided their care and support and they applied the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in practice.
People who required support with their nutritional needs received it. Staff were supported to proactively support people with any changes in their health. They promptly referred people to health care professionals where required.
Staff were kind and compassionate to people who used the service. They demonstrated interest in the welfare of people that used the service and had knowledge of their needs and preferences. They provided care in a way that promoted people’s dignity and their right to privacy.
People had comprehensive care plans which reflected their current needs. The care that they received was centre on their individual needs.
Staff supported people to minimise the risk of social isolation. They supported people to access social activities and be part of their local community.
People had opportunities to provide feedback about the service they received. They provider acted on people’s feedback.
People felt included and satisfied in the development and quality of the service. They spoke highly of the management team. Staff felt supported in their role which enabled them to deliver a good standard of care. The provider had effective procedures for monitoring and assessing the quality of service that people received.