- Homecare service
Gentle Healthcare Services
Report from 10 October 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Gentle Healthcare Services is a domiciliary care agency registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of this assessment 4 people were receiving a home care service from this provider. The service was rated requires improvement at their last inspection (published 18 May 2022). This was because we identified multiple breaches in relation to the way the provider managed risks people might face, staff recruitment and supervision, and the effectiveness of how they operated their quality monitoring systems. We undertook this assessment to check the provider had implemented the action plan we required them to complete after their last inspection to show us they had improved. This assessment was short notice announced and conducted by a single inspector on 29 and 30 October 2024. We assessed 21 quality statements related to the 3 key questions, Is the service safe, effective and well-led? For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. At this inspection we found improvements had been made by the provider. This was because the provider had addressed all the concerns we identified at their last inspection. These improvements included better management of risk, staff recruitment and support, and how the provider operated their quality monitoring systems. This meant they were no longer in breach of regulations and people were not at risk of harm. The overall rating for the service has therefore improved from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 3 people about their experiences of receiving a home care service from this agency and they all expressed being generally happy with the service provided. A person told us, “The staff who visit me at home are really nice and know how to look after me. They’re all so caring and kind to me.” A relative added, “We have only Asian carers who we share a culture with, so they’re able to speak the same first language as we do and know how to cook Asian style meals the way my [family member] likes them. I cannot fault this care agency.” We also received feedback from the owner/manager who we met in-person and email feedback from 4 care staff. Staff were generally positive about their experiences of working for the provider. A member of staff told us, “In my honest opinion I believe this agency provides the best service to the people receiving personal care from us and all the staff who work for the company.” The provider had addressed all the outstanding concerns we identified at their last inspection and improved peoples’ experiences of using this service. People were now supported by staff who knew how to prevent and/or manage potential risks they might face. This was because they had been suitably trained and had access to sufficiently detailed guidance in relation to preventing and safely managing identified risks. People were also supported by staff whose suitability and fitness to work in an adult social care setting had now been thoroughly assessed and checked. In addition, people were now looked after by competent staff who were well trained and supported by the office-based managers. Furthermore, the safety and quality of the service people received was closely monitored by the provider who now operated effective oversight and scrutiny systems.