Caring Direct Ltd
- Home care
- Dementia care
- Registered since 2022
- Willows Green, Essex, East of England
Requires improvement
Rated on
Rating from the Care Quality Commission.
At a glance
5 ratings
Its last inspection moved it down from Good to Requires improvement.
19 months
since the latest rating was published.
27 of 298
rated home care services in Essex are rated Requires improvement, like this one.
Caring Direct Ltd: inspection record
Rated Requires improvement in March 2025, down from Good.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | ||||||||||||
| Safe | ||||||||||||
| Effective | ||||||||||||
| Caring | ||||||||||||
| Responsive | ||||||||||||
| Well-led |
Ratings published by the Care Quality Commission.
Compare nearby
Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Filcare Ltd (Good, 0.2 miles away) and Essex Dementia Care (Good, 0.9 miles away).
Nearest home care services:
- G Filcare Ltd Good, 0.2 miles away
- G Essex Dementia Care Good, 0.9 miles away
- G Meadows Good, 1.1 miles away
- G DCA Essex Good, 1.3 miles away
- – The Care Professionals (Essex) Ltd Not yet rated, 1.5 miles away
What inspectors found
From the Care Quality Commission's assessment published 5 March 2025 (assessment visit 10 January 2025). Quoted under the Open Government Licence.
Date of Assessment: 13 to 20 January 2025. This service is a care at home agency providing support to adults of all ages. This service is registered for use by autistic people or people with a learning disability. However, at the time of the assessment, no autistic people or people with a learning disability were receiving a regulated activity. CQC only inspects where people are receiving the regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this assessment, 14 people were receiving personal care support.
- Safe No rating
- Effective No rating
- Caring No rating
- Responsive No rating
- Well-led No rating
Read the rest of CQC's summary
We found 3 breaches of legal regulations in relation to staffing, person-centred care and governance. People did not always receive personalised care and the provider had not ensured staff were deployed appropriately to meet people’s needs and preferences. The provider’s governance processes did not effectively identify or address areas of concern.
The provider did not have a robust process in place for investigating and learning from incidents. Risks to people’s safety were not always assessed and documented to ensure they were managed safely.
People’s needs were assessed; however, the timing of their care was not always provided in line with their assessed needs and preferences. People were not always involved in making decisions about their care.
People were treated with kindness and staff protected their privacy and dignity. However, people’s care was not always delivered in a way which promoted their choice and control. People’s capacity to give informed consent was not always recorded. The provider did not always promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff monitored people’s health and worked in partnership with other agencies. The provider promoted people’s equality in access to care. People were provided with information in formats they could easily understand.
-
Safe
No rating
Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address.
This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety. There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.
The provider was in breach of legal regulation in relation to staffing.
-
Effective
No rating
Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.
This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address.
This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant the effectiveness of people’s care, treatment and support did not always achieve good outcomes or was inconsistent.
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Caring
No rating
Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address.
This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.
-
Responsive
No rating
Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.
This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address.
This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant people’s needs were not always met.
The provider was in breach of legal regulation in relation to person-centred care.
-
Well-led
No rating
Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.
This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address.
This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
The provider was in breach of legal regulation in relation to the governance of the service.
Questions to ask the service
- Safe was rated Requires improvement on 5 March 2025. Ask how medicines are managed, how staffing levels are decided and how incidents are reviewed.
- Effective was rated Requires improvement on 5 March 2025. Ask about staff training and how health appointments are arranged.
- Caring was rated Requires improvement on 5 March 2025. Ask how staff protect dignity and how people are involved in decisions about their care.
- Responsive was rated Requires improvement on 5 March 2025. Ask to see how care plans are kept up to date, how complaints are handled.
Registration details
- Registered manager
- Allan Eastwood
- Registered with the CQC since
- What it provides
- Domiciliary care service
- Who it supports
- Dementia, Learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Sensory Impairment, Younger Adults
Inspection report
Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)The rating is the Care Quality Commission's. We show it as published and do not change it.
Who runs it
- Provider
- Caring Direct Ltd
- Ownership type
- Organisation
- Companies House number
- 06968489 (opens Companies House)
Getting help from Essex County Council
The council can assess what care someone needs and tell them what help with the cost they may get.
- Adult social care at Essex County Council
- Ask for a care needs assessment
- Phone: 0345 603 7630, Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 5pm, Friday 8.45am to 4.30pm
- Contact adult social care online
- Support for carers
- Paying for care: Essex County Council
Checked on the council's website, November 2026.
Common questions
- Does Caring Direct Ltd provide nursing care?
- The Care Quality Commission's register does not list nursing care for Caring Direct Ltd.
- When was Caring Direct Ltd last inspected?
- The Care Quality Commission's latest rating for Caring Direct Ltd was published on 5 March 2025.
- Who runs Caring Direct Ltd?
- Caring Direct Ltd is run by Caring Direct Ltd.
- What is Caring Direct Ltd's CQC rating?
- Its overall rating from the Care Quality Commission is Requires improvement, published on 5 March 2025.
Contact
- Phone
- 01376 653162
- Address
- 9 The Square, Notley Green, Great Notley, Braintree, CM77 7WT Map (opens Google Maps)
Compare nearby
Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Filcare Ltd (Good, 0.2 miles away) and Essex Dementia Care (Good, 0.9 miles away).
Nearest home care services:
- G Filcare Ltd Good, 0.2 miles away
- G Essex Dementia Care Good, 0.9 miles away
- G Meadows Good, 1.1 miles away
- G DCA Essex Good, 1.3 miles away
- – The Care Professionals (Essex) Ltd Not yet rated, 1.5 miles away