Caremark Newcastle received an overall Good rating following a focused inspection of Safe and Well-Led, prompted by concerns about staffing and governance. The new manager had proactively addressed issues prior to inspection, with improvements made to recruitment, rota management, medicines handling, and quality assurance systems, though a recommendation was made to formalise external provider oversight.
Concerns (2)
minorGovernance: “A formal system of external scrutiny, overseen by the provider was to be introduced to check service provision.”
minorMissed or late visits: “Rota management had not always been well-co-ordinated, as there were some improvements required to continuity of care and the timings of calls.”
Strengths
· People felt safe and trusted staff; safeguarding procedures were understood by all staff.
· New manager identified and acted on improvements before inspection, including rewriting care plans and improving recruitment.
· Medicines records were complete and regular checks carried out; updated medicines training provided to staff.
· Electronic care planning introduced, providing improved guidance for person-centred care.
· Staff overwhelmingly felt supported by management; people and relatives were highly complimentary about direct care.
Caremark Newcastle received a Good rating across all five key questions at its first inspection, with relatives praising staff for safe, dignified and compassionate care delivery. Recommendations were made to strengthen medicines record-keeping, formalise consent recording, and tailor staff training more closely to the specific needs of the service.
Concerns (4)
moderateMedication management: “limited formal processes to check that MARs remained up to date and accurate.”
minorConsent / capacity: “Not everyone had signed to formally say they had consented to the actions described.”
minorStaff training: “Staff told us they had undertaken a range of generalised training through Zoom or other online platforms. They felt this was very good, although often very generic in nature.”
minorRecord keeping: “The manager told us he could not access all previous training, supervision and appraisal records as access had not been provided by the previous manager.”
Strengths
· Relatives confirmed care was always delivered safely and staff attended appointments on time.
· Staff used PPE correctly and received regular infection control training and updates.
· People and relatives praised staff for being kind, dignified and going beyond contracted duties.
· Care plans contained detailed, personalised information including communication needs and preferences.
· Effective safeguarding response to recent missed calls, with no recurrence reported.
Quality-Statement breakdown (24)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
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 eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
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 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: 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
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood