Universal Care Agency Ltd
- Home care
- Dementia care
- Registered since 2011
- Paulsgrove, Portsmouth, South East
Requires improvement
Rated on
Rating from the Care Quality Commission.
At a glance
11 ratings
Its last inspection moved it down from Good to Requires improvement.
1 month
since the latest rating was published.
5 of 27
rated home care services in Portsmouth are rated Requires improvement, like this one.
Universal Care Agency Ltd: inspection record
Rated Requires improvement in September 2026, 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: Helping Hands Cosham (Good, 0.5 miles away) and Nightingales Golden Care Limited (Good, 1 mile away).
Nearest home care services:
- – We Care 24x7 Limited Not yet rated, 0.3 miles away
- I Admiral Care Limited Inadequate, 0.4 miles away
- – 1 Noble Healthcare Ltd Not yet rated, 0.4 miles away
- G Helping Hands Cosham Good, 0.5 miles away
- – Magnificent Care Ltd Registered Office Not yet rated, 0.9 miles away
What inspectors found
From the Care Quality Commission's assessment published 15 September 2026 (assessment visit 7 July 2026). Quoted under the Open Government Licence.
Date of assessment: 8 July 2026 to 30 July 2026
We carried out this assessment to check if the provider had taken action to make the improvements we identified during our previous assessment.
- Safe No rating
- Well-led No rating
Read the rest of CQC's summary
Universal Care Agency Ltd is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects services where people receive the regulated activity of personal care. Personal care includes support with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive wider social care support, we also consider this as part of our assessment.
The service supported older people and people living with physical disabilities, dementia and sensory impairment. Not everyone using the service received the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of this assessment, the provider supported 13 people.
The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulations in relation to good governance. Not enough improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. The provider was also in breach of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment and fit and proper persons employed.
The provider did not operate safe recruitment practices and failed to ensure all required pre-employment checks had been completed before staff started work. People’s medicines were not always managed safely. Risk assessments lacked sufficient detail and accuracy to guide staff in keeping people safe. This included information available in people's homes relating to fire safety and pressure care risks. The provider did not operate effective quality monitoring and governance systems to identify and address shortfalls in a timely way. Ineffective oversight and governance arrangements contributed to the breaches identified during this assessment.
Leaders provided staff with support to carry out their roles. Staff told us they enjoyed working for the provider and appreciated having regular people to care for, which helped them build positive relationships and understand people's needs.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment. We will also continue to monitor improvements in governance arrangements through the provider’s monthly action plan submissions.
-
Safe
No rating
Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 service was in breach of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment as people’s risks had not always been assessed and their medicines were not always managed safely. The service was also in breach relating to fit and proper persons employed due to unsafe staff recruitment.
-
Well-led
No rating
Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.
The service remained in breach of legal regulations in relation to good governance.
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.
Questions to ask the service
- Safe was rated Requires improvement on 15 September 2026. Ask how medicines are managed, how staffing levels are decided and how incidents are reviewed.
- Well-led was rated Requires improvement on 15 September 2026. Ask about changes in management and what has changed since the report.
- Ask to see the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report and what the service did about any points in it.
Registration details
- Registered manager
- Victor Agamasu
- Registered with the CQC since
- What it provides
- Domiciliary care service
- Who it supports
- Dementia, Learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, Older People, Physical Disability, Sensory Impairment
Inspection report
Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)12 inspection reports, latest 11 November 2022. Latest assessment published 15 September 2026; the Care Quality Commission's newer assessments are published on its website rather than as reports.
The rating is the Care Quality Commission's. We show it as published and do not change it.
Who runs it
- Provider
- Universal Care Agency Ltd
- Ownership type
- Organisation
- Companies House number
- 06829827 (opens Companies House)
Getting help from Portsmouth City Council
The council can assess what care someone needs and tell them what help with the cost they may get.
- Adult social care at Portsmouth City Council
- Ask for a care needs assessment
- Phone: 023 9268 0810, Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm
- Contact adult social care online
- Support for carers
- Paying for care: Portsmouth City Council
Checked on the council's website, November 2026.
Common questions
- Does Universal Care Agency Ltd provide nursing care?
- The Care Quality Commission's register does not list nursing care for Universal Care Agency Ltd.
- When was Universal Care Agency Ltd last inspected?
- The Care Quality Commission's latest rating for Universal Care Agency Ltd was published on 15 September 2026.
- Who runs Universal Care Agency Ltd?
- Universal Care Agency Ltd is run by Universal Care Agency Ltd.
- What is Universal Care Agency Ltd's CQC rating?
- Its overall rating from the Care Quality Commission is Requires improvement, published on 15 September 2026.
Contact
- Phone
- 023 9200 6489
- Address
- 18 Arran Close, Portsmouth, PO6 3UD Map (opens Google Maps)
Compare nearby
Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Helping Hands Cosham (Good, 0.5 miles away) and Nightingales Golden Care Limited (Good, 1 mile away).
Nearest home care services:
- – We Care 24x7 Limited Not yet rated, 0.3 miles away
- I Admiral Care Limited Inadequate, 0.4 miles away
- – 1 Noble Healthcare Ltd Not yet rated, 0.4 miles away
- G Helping Hands Cosham Good, 0.5 miles away
- – Magnificent Care Ltd Registered Office Not yet rated, 0.9 miles away