Cura Homecare

Updated 26 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 18 and 20 April 2018 and was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

One inspector and one expert by experience carried out this inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service. The inspector visited the office on 18 and 20 April 2018, while the expert by experience supported the inspection on 18 April 2018 and completed telephone interviews with people and their relatives.

Before the inspection, we reviewed all of the information we hold about the service, including notifications sent to us by the provider. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR), which is information given to us by the provider.

As part of the inspection we spoke with four people who used the service, one relative, the registered manager and two members of care staff. We looked at the records relating to care and decision making for three people. We also looked at records about the management of the service, training records and staff files. We received feedback from four health and social care professionals.

Updated 26 June 2018

This comprehensive inspection took place on the 18 and 20 April 2018.

This was the service’s first rated inspection since they registered with the CQC in February 2017.

This was an announced inspection which meant the provider was given notice before we visited. This was because the location provides a home care service. We wanted to make sure the registered manager, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to support our inspection.

Cura Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults and children. At time of our inspection 25 people, including two children, were using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 told us they felt safe when receiving support from staff. They praised Cura Homecare for providing a punctual and reliable service. People told us they would recommend Cura Homecare to others.

People told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. They said they had built good relationships with staff and there was continuity in care.

Staff spoke positively about the people they supported. They told us they would go that extra mile to ensure people were happy and comfortable.

Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and act on them to protect people.

People’s medicines were mostly managed and administered safely. There had been three medicines errors the past 12 months; however the registered manager had put a new system in place to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

Risks to people’s health and safety had been identified and actions put in place to minimise these risks. Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored to identify any patterns. Where needed, lessons were learnt.

There was a sufficient number of staff to meet people’s needs. People were matched with staff with the skills and knowledge to meet their individual needs.

The service worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and people’s consent was sought before commencing their care.

Staff received relevant training such as safeguarding, mental capacity and manual handling to enable them to carry out their roles. Staff said they received regular supervisions (one-to-one) meetings with their line manager.

People were supported to access health and social care professionals when needed.

People’s support plans were clearly written and we saw evidence that people and/or their relatives were involved in the development of the plan.

The registered manager told us they valued their staff and wanted the service to be a place where staff enjoyed coming to work. Staff spoke positively about the support they received.

Staff, people and professionals said the registered manager was approachable and would act on any concerns they had.

The registered manager continually looked at innovative ways of improving the service and getting people involved. They had made various links with agencies in the community.

There were systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of the care provided. Audits were completed and any shortfalls identified were dealt with.