Date of assessment: 17 to 19 February 2026. Hopecare and Health Limited is a Domiciliary Care Agency, providing support and personal care to people in their own homes. Staff supported people of varying ages with different health needs. At the time of our assessment 22 people were receiving support from the service. We carried out this assessment due to the rating of requires improvement and previous breaches of regulation. At our last assessment we were concerned about safe care and treatment and governance. At this assessment improvements had been made. The service was no longer in breach of regulations and are now rated good. People were safe. Risks posed to people were assessed and mitigated. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and staff told us they felt comfortable to whistle-blow on poor practice. Some improvements were required to ensure people had their capacity appropriately assessed. However, people’s records contained details about people’s advanced decisions and people told us staff sought their consent prior to providing support to them. People were supported in their own homes, risks to the environment were assessed and staff ensured people’s homes were kept secure. People told us staff promoted infection, prevention and control (IPC), and the management team undertook regular staff spot checks to ensure staff adhered to IPC policies and procedures. Accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded and monitored, to learn lessons from these. Staff were recruited safely and received training to enable them to effectively carry out their roles. People had their needs assessed prior to using the service and people’s needs were regularly reviewed. Relatives told us they were kept informed of any changes to their loved one’s needs. People’s care records contained details about their preferences, what was important to them and their future goals and outcomes. People received external healthcare support where required. However, some improvements were required to ensure people’s care plans always contained enough detail about professionals advice. People had their day-to-day needs met, and staff promoted people’s health and well-being. Staff were responsive to people’s needs. People were involved in providing feedback about their care and support. People told us they felt listened to. People had detailed communication plans in place, to guide staff about people’s individualised communication needs. People were provided with accessible information, such as easy-to-read information. Staff felt supported by the management team and told us they were approachable and available. Staff received regular supervision and appraisals and attended regular team meetings. People and relatives told us the service was well-led. Governance systems were in place, to ensure people received safe, high-quality care. The provider focused on driving improvements in the service.
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Hopecare and Health Limited received an overall rating of Requires Improvement at its first inspection, with breaches of Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (good governance) identified due to inadequate risk assessment, ineffective incident monitoring, incomplete MAR records, absent PRN protocols, and audit systems that failed to detect these concerns. Caring and responsive practice were rated Good, reflecting positive feedback from people and relatives about staff kindness, personalised care and responsive communication.
Concerns (6)
criticalCare planning: “Not all care plans contained enough detail about how staff supported people safely. A person's pressure care needs were not risk assessed, care plans did not contain detail about how staff safely transfer this person.”
criticalMedication management: “Some MAR's were not completed appropriately, meaning we could not be assured people received their medicines as prescribed. PRN protocols were not in place to guide staff about how and when to give these.”
criticalGovernance: “Audits had not identified concerns found during the inspection in relation to care records, capacity and consent, medicines records and staff training.”
moderateIncident learning: “Systems to monitor accidents and incidents were not always effective and did not promote learning, to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and improve the quality of the service.”
moderateConsent / capacity: “Records were not clear about people's capacity to consent and did not contain capacity assessments or best interest decisions.”
minorStaff training: “Further training was required to ensure all staff completed The Care Certificate.”
Strengths
· People and relatives consistently reported feeling safe and praised staff as kind, friendly and caring.
· Staff were recruited safely with pre-employment checks, references and DBS certificates completed.
· Call monitoring systems ensured no missed visits and late arrivals were communicated to people in advance.
· Care plans detailed people's preferences, hobbies, interests and goals to support individualised care.
· Staff worked effectively with external agencies including GPs, speech and language therapists and district nurses.
Quality-Statement breakdown (21)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceRequires improvement
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawRequires improvement
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidance
Requires improvement
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesGood
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsGood
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirements; continuous learningRequires improvement
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood