Archived: Cambridge Care Company - Haverhill

Updated 11 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. 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by two inspectors 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

Cambridge Care Company – Haverhill is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 44 people. This included 39 people living in their own homes and five people who lived in two ‘supported living settings’, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. They were also the provider. This meant they were legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or a member of their management team would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection site visit activity started on 12 November 2019 and ended on 5 December 2019 when we gave feedback. It included a visit to the office location on 12 November 2019 to meet with the provider, a manager from another of the provider’s services who was overseeing the service, seven care staff, a care coordinator and to review care plans and other records.

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 worked with the service. 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 their 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.

During the inspection

We carried out telephone interviews with people on 13, 14 and 15 November 2019. We spoke with twelve people who used the service, three people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided and received feedback from three professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 11 January 2020

About the service

Cambridge Care Company – Haverhill is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 39 people living in their own homes and five people with a learning disability who live in two supported living environments. At the time of the inspection there were 44 people who used the service.

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

Since our last inspection, improvements had been made to address the previous shortfalls. This involved making changes to governance and oversight arrangements, implementation of systems and processes to safely assess and manage risks to people, including with their medicines and with the co-ordination of people’s visits. These need to be sustained, maintained and fully embedded into the culture of the service.

Risks to people were assessed and mitigated, which reduced the risks of avoidable harm. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s risks and how to care for them safely. They understood how to protect and safeguard people and demonstrated a transparent attitude to reporting concerns.

Where people required support with their medicines, this was done safely. Infection control processes protected people from the risks of cross infection. There were enough staff safely recruited to cover the planned visits to people.

People received care and support from staff who were trained and supported appropriately. Where people required support with their dietary needs and health, this was provided effectively. 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 were cared for and supported by caring and compassionate staff. People’s rights to independence, dignity and privacy were promoted and respected. People’s views and choices were valued and used to plan their care. This included people’s end of life decisions.

The provider had systems to monitor the quality and safety of the care provided. People were asked for their views and their feedback used to improve the service and make any necessary changes.

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 was requires improvement (published 19 September 2018) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

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