Care4Us Health Care received an overall rating of Good across all five key questions at its first CQC inspection in April 2022, with people and professionals providing consistently positive feedback about the quality of care and management. Minor shortfalls were noted in medication record-keeping practices and staff training record maintenance, both of which were in the process of being addressed through a new electronic system at the time of inspection.
Concerns (3)
minorMedication management: “Medication audits did not always identify when there had been missed signatures on medicines administration records (MAR). One medication audit showed individual medicines had not been listed on the MAR.”
minorStaff training: “The training system had been upgraded and the management team explained not all staff had transferred to the new system. Where staff had completed training on the old system the dates of training had not consistently been recorded.”
minorRecord keeping: “The nominated individual explained gaps in audits were investigated but this had not been consistently recorded.”
Strengths
· People and professionals gave positive feedback about the care provided by staff, with one local authority describing the service as 'a brilliant provider'.
· Care plans were personalised and included people's personal preferences, with reviews involving people and their relatives.
· Staff understood the importance of treating people with dignity, respect and promoting independence.
· The registered manager had good oversight of the service and was implementing an electronic monitoring system to track call times and care task completion.
· End of life care was well supported, with care plans clearly explaining roles of staff and district nurses.
Quality-Statement breakdown (24)
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
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
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
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