A Class Care

Updated 18 January 2020

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this announced inspection.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to speak with people who use the service, their relatives, and staff before visiting the service’s office.

Inspection activity started on 12 November 2019 and ended on 25 November 2019. We visited the office location on 13 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included, information shared with us by the local authority.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke on the telephone with five people, three relatives, three support workers and two external care professionals. We also received emails from four other external care professionals. The care professionals included representatives from local authorities, a manager of another domiciliary care agency, and a community warden.

During our visit to the service’s office we spoke with a client liaison support officer, a project manager and both directors for the registered provider. One of these directors is also the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. These included sampling seven people’s care records, and staff training and supervision records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including accident and incident reports, audits and quality assurance reports, and minutes of staff meetings.

Updated 18 January 2020

A Class Care Limited provides personal care to adults living in their own homes in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. It provides a service, including a 'live in' care workers service (this means that there are staff supporting people 24 hours a day, seven days a week) to both older and younger adults. 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 this inspection, 44 people received the regulated activity, personal care.

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

People and relatives praised the care and support provided. The management team had a clear vision of providing good care and support that enabled people to live and receive care in their own homes.

People felt safe receiving the service. The provider had processes in place to minimise the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. Staff had received training and were confident to recognise and report any concerns. People received their medicines at the right times.

The provider continued to operate a robust recruitment process. Staff had the time to ensure they met people’s needs safely, and in a way that suited them. People received care from staff who were trained and well supported. The service sought additional training and support from external care professionals when people had a specific health condition or care need. This ensured people received the care and support they needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support. Staff supported people to express their views and consulted them about all aspects of their care.

The registered manager and staff were caring and provided people’s care in a person-centred way. Staff were kind, and treated people with dignity and respect.

People’s care plans were personalised and provided staff with comprehensive guidance on how to meet people's needs. Staff reviewed people’s needs regularly, involving relevant people.

Systems were in place to deal with any concerns or complaints. Senior staff thoroughly investigated any complaints, responded to the complainant and took action to reduce the risk of recurrence where appropriate.

The directors constantly reviewed the service provided. Information was gathered from a range of sources and reviewed to identify any trends and lessons learnt were cascaded to staff. They were forward thinking and looked for ways to improve the service.

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 (the last report was published 30 March 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the level of care provided and the level of training and supervision staff received. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the effective, responsive, and well-led sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.