AZ Caring Services Ltd

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

The registered provider and registered manager are the same person so we will refer to them throughout the report as the provider/registered manager.

Accidents and incidents were minimal but were monitored and responded to appropriately. Learning from when things went wrong was shared with staff to inform their practice.

There were enough staff to support people receiving the service. Staff were recruited safely and received appropriate training and supervision.

Staff had received additional infection control training to support their understanding of the Covid 19 pandemic. They were provided with personal protective equipment and they and relatives confirmed this was worn on every visit to keep everyone safe and to reduce risks of infection.

Medication was managed safely and improvements had been made to the way in which medicines administered were recorded. Regular counts were made of the amounts administered, this was to check that people were receiving the right level of medication when they needed it. Staff were trained in medication administration and their competency was checked annually.

Relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. Improvements had been made to make people and relatives aware of the complaints process. Relatives told us they knew how to raise issues and felt listened

to. They and staff were surveyed annually for their views about the service but they were also contacted regularly to gauge their satisfaction. Feedback was used to inform service improvements.

Relatives told us that the provider/registered manager and staff were very approachable. Staff thought the provider/registered manager fostered an open and transparent culture. Staff meetings were held to discuss important changes and enabled staff to express their views. Regular audits were carried out to give the registered manager oversight of service quality and any emerging shortfalls. A new electronic system was effective in alerting the provider and office staff of any concerns quickly. Going forward there were plans to improve use of the system to help in the auditing process. The new system would also allow people and relatives to read their care notes with appropriate password protection.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.