Caremark (Winchester & Eastleigh)

Caremark (Winchester & Eastleigh) provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the agency was providing a service for 67 older people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical frailty or memory loss due to the progression of age.

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.

At our last inspection on 14 June 2016, we found one breach of regulation. The service was non-compliant with safe medicines procedures. The provider sent us an action plan detailing the steps they would take to become compliant with the regulations. During this inspection we found action had been taken and they were now compliant.

We received positive feedback from people about the service. People who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke highly of the care staff.

People felt safe with the service provided by Caremark (Winchester & Eastleigh). The risks to people were minimized through risk assessments, staff were aware of how to keep people safe and the information provided staff with clear guidelines to follow. There were plans in place for foreseeable emergencies.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes. Staff received training in safeguarding adults.

Staff completed a wide range of training and felt it supported them in their job role. New staff completed an induction before being permitted to work unsupervised. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervision and support to discuss areas of development. Staff meetings were held regularly. There were sufficient numbers of staff to maintain the schedule of care visits to meet people's needs

People received their medicines safely. There were appropriate arrangements in place for managing medicines. Staff were trained in the handling of medicines. Staff contacted healthcare professionals when required.

People felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was respected. People were

supported with their nutritional needs when needed. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and understood that people had the right to make their own choices.

Staff were responsive to people's needs which were detailed in care plans. Care plans provided comprehensive information which helped ensure people received personalised care which met their needs.

People felt listened to and a complaints procedure was in place. Staff felt supported by the management and felt they could visit the office and be listened to. There were systems in place to monitor quality and safety of the service provided. The service had built up local links with the community.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found