Constable Care is a small, locally run service providing support to people in their own homes. At the time of the assessment on 29 January 2026, the service was supporting 19 people, including 14 receiving the regulated activity of personal care. Most people were living with loved ones and many were living with dementia. The provider and registered manager were committed to maintaining a small, community focused service for people in Brightlingsea and the surrounding areas. This approach supported person-centred, unhurried care, with effective contingencies to ensure people received consistent support and that individual risks to health and wellbeing were well managed. The registered manager had not identified a restrictive practice affecting 1 person that had not been appropriately authorised. However, the provider and registered manager responded promptly by addressing the issue, improving staff training, and ensuring that least restrictive measures were properly assessed and applied. The registered manager and provider had a hands-on approach, drawing on their experience as former carers which contributed to the strong, positive feedback received from people, relatives and care staff. Staff knew people well and demonstrated caring, flexible and adaptable practice, particularly when supporting people living with dementia and their loved ones. The registered manager acknowledged that improvements were needed in governance and monitoring. Work was already underway to strengthen this area, supported by a previous registered manager and the introduction of a new electronic care records system.
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Constable Care is a small domiciliary agency rated Good overall, with compassionate, skilled staff delivering safe, person-centred care and no missed visits reported. However, Well-Led is Requires Improvement due to failure to submit the Provider Information Return, an unregistered manager situation, and gaps in governance including outdated policies and absent end-of-life care training.
Concerns (5)
moderateGovernance: “The provider could not be given a rating above requires improvement, because they had not completed the required Provider Information Return (PIR), which we asked for in October 2018.”
moderateLeadership: “The registered manager had not been working in the service since July 2018. They had not applied to cancel their registration, this was undertaken by the CQC in January 2019.”
minorRecord keeping: “being behind in checking their policies and procedures reflected current best practice.”
minorStaff training: “The provider's statement of purpose stated the service supported people with end of life care...we saw this was not covered in their training.”
minorCommunication with families: “the management were not aware of the Accessible Information Standard, until discussed during the inspection.”
Strengths
· Staff were kind, compassionate and highly motivated, going above and beyond their care packages for people.
· People received consistent care from the same staff, with no missed visits reported.
· Robust safeguarding awareness: staff knew how to recognise and report abuse internally and externally.
· Medicines management was safe, with staff trained and competency-assessed.
· People were fully involved in decisions about their care and supported to maintain independence.
Quality-Statement breakdown (21)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
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 meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlGood
responsive: The provision of accessible informationGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support with openness; duty of candourRequires improvement
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving care; Working in partnership with othersGood