17 April 2023
During a routine inspection
Testimony Assembly Care Limited is a domiciliary care service and supported living service providing personal care to people. At the time of our inspection, there were 15 people receiving support 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 the inspection, the location did not provide care or support to anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider had failed to adequately assess the risks to the health and safety of people and provide staff with detailed guidance to mitigate these risks. People told us they felt safe with the support of staff, but we found records such as care plans and risk assessments had not always been completed for people’s known risks and to give staff clear guidance in managing these risks.
The provider had checks and audits in place, but these were not effective and had failed to identify the areas for improvement found at this inspection. These included care planning and risk assessments, medication management records and complaint records.
Staff adhered to infection control procedures and protected people from the risk of infection. Staff were knowledgeable in safeguarding adults' procedures. People we spoke with said they felt safe with the care and support of staff.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and to ensure staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests, however the records relating to this needed improvement to ensure they reflected the choices people made.
Staff were caring and respectful and people were involved in their care and their wishes about how they wanted to be supported.
People we spoke with said staff provided good care and staff working for the provider told us they felt supported in their role.
The provider was open and receptive to the areas of concern identified in the inspection and after the inspection the provider took immediate action to address some the concerns we found.
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 at the previous premises was good (published 12 October 2017).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safe staff recruitment practices. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report to see what actions we have asked the provider to take.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance
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Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.