About the service:

Metro Homecare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to the whole population. Not everyone using Metro Homecare Ltd receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At the time of the inspection, it was providing a service to 279 people.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they felt safe with the staff. However, some people and their relatives felt weekend and temporary staff did not always know people’s needs.

The provider had not always identified risks to people who used the service or put in place guidance on how to reduce risks where these were identified. The provider had not always updated people's risk assessments to reflect their changing needs.

People were at risk because guidance and the potential risks on how to support people with medicines was not always recorded clearly in their support plans.

Staff followed appropriate procedures in seeking people’s consent however the provider was not always recording consent in line with the Mental Health Act 2005 (MCA).

The provider lacked robust and effective systems and processes to ensure the quality and safety of service.

People and relatives told us staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. They were involved in the care planning process and reviews. People's independence was encouraged and maintained.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People and relatives knew how to raise concerns and they told us the service was responsive.

Staff told us they felt supported and were involved in continuously learning and improving care.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was registered by CQC on 27 April 2018. This is the service’s first inspection since its registration. This is the first time this service has been rated Requires Improvement.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Enforcement:

We identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 around safe care and treatment, and good governance. Details of action we have asked the provider to take can be found at the end of this report.

We made one recommendation in our inspection report, which we will follow up at our next inspection.

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.