About the service

Carelink Healthcare Professionals Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults. At the time of the inspection 102 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service

•People were pleased with the quality of care and support they experienced. They told us they felt safe when support workers visited them to provide care. A person told us, “It’s so good to know I can just trust them.”

•Support workers made people feel safe and secure.

•Support workers knew who to report any concerns to and assessments of potential risk ensured that people were as safe as possible. They told us they were confident that if they raised any concerns the registered manager and senior staff would take them seriously.

•Support workers were trained in how to support people safely, for example when they used equipment such a hoist to lift and transfer people. They told us they knew what it felt like to be hoisted because they experienced this for themselves when they were trained how to use hoists.

•The same support workers supported people most of the time. The provider recognised this was important to people and was working towards ensuring this. They organised support workers into small teams so that people had a core team of five support workers who would visit them. The provider employed enough support workers so that they could meet people’s needs in a timely way.

•Support workers went through a thorough recruitment process that ensured as far as possible that only suitable staff were employed. New support workers learnt about people’s needs by ‘shadowing’ then working alongside experienced colleagues before supporting people alone. They learnt about people’s likes, dislikes and preferences about how they wanted to be supported.

•Support workers had training that supported them to have the knowledge and skills to do their job well and effectively meet people’s needs.

•Support workers gave people their prescribed medicines safely. They had training about how to manage medicines safely.

•Support workers followed safe practice for infection control. They wore protective equipment such as gloves and aprons when they supported people. They supported people to keep their homes clean.

•Support workers supported those people who required support to have enough to eat and drink and to access health services when they needed. They telephoned for doctors or nurses to attend to a person if they were unwell.

•Support workers respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged people to be as independent as possible. People had opportunities to decide on the care they wanted and to review and change the care if it was not meeting their needs. Care records reflected their decisions.

•People knew how to complain and were confident that the registered manager or office staff would resolve their complaints. People told us they found it easy to contact the office.

•The provider had effective arrangements for monitoring the quality of the care and support people experienced. These included regularly asking people for their feedback and acting on what people said.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection we rated this service Good (report published on 5 July 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The inspection took place on 19 May 2016 and was announced. The provider was given notice of the inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to speak with us.

The service provided personal and nursing care to people living in their own homes. The service supported people with a range of needs including people who were older, had a physical disability, were living with dementia, had a sensory disorder or who had a learning disability or Aspergers. At the time of inspection there were 15 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us that they felt safe when staff supported them and that there were enough staff to meet their needs.

Risk assessments were in place which set out how to support people in a safe manner. The service had safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures in place. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in these areas.

People were supported to take their medicines by care workers who had received training in medicines management.

When people started to use the service a care plan was developed that included information about their support needs, likes, dislikes and preferences. This meant that staff had the relevant information to meet people’s needs.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet where they were supported with eating and drinking. People were supported or prompted to access healthcare services.

Care workers were supported through training and supervision to be able to meet the care needs of people they supported. They undertook an induction programme when they started work at the service.

Staff told us that they sought people’s consent prior to providing their care.

Staff developed caring relationships with people and understood people’s needs and preferences.

People were involved in decisions about their support. They told us that staff treated them with respect.

People were involved in the assessment and review of their needs.

People and staff felt the service was well managed. The service was well organised and led by a registered manager who understood their responsibilities under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.

The provider carried out monitoring in relation to the quality of the service that people received.

The people who used the service and their relatives told us the agency provided good quality care. One person said, “The care is excellent and the staff make me feel good at receiving it, they don’t make me feel like a burden.” Another commented, “I have always been happy with this agency. It is professional in everything it does.”

People said they liked the care staff and thought they were good at their jobs. One person told us, “The staff are very capable and responsible and I feel confident leaving my (family member) with them. They are friendly without being intrusive. They understand that this is my home and are respectful of that.”

People told us they liked the continuity of care the agency provided. One person said, “I always know who’s coming which is great as I wouldn’t want strangers coming into my home. Carelink suits me because I know everyone there and they are like family now.”

People said they thought the agency was well-run and the care safe and reliable. One person told us, “I am very pleased with this agency. It is a family business and the owners are hands-on. They are both nurses and know all about caring for people. They oversee the care and make sure everything is going smoothly.”