Date of assessment: 16 June 2025 to 27 June 2025. Dennyson Care limited provides care and support to people living in their own home. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. At the time of this assessment, there were 44 people using the service. This assessment was carried with a site visit to the office location. This assessment was carried out by an inspector. Assessment activity started on 16 June 2025 and ended on 27 June 2025. We looked at 15 quality statements as part of this assessment. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to make sure someone would be available to support us with the inspection. The site visit was carried out on 19 June 2025. We also spoke with people that used the service, their relatives and staff after the site visit to seek their views about the service. The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 20 July 2023). This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation. The provider had effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. The systems for administration of medicines were now operating more effectively as well as the monitoring of visits to people to ensure they receive care and support at the agreed time. Those were 2 recommendations we made at our last inspection.
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Dennyson Care Limited requires improvement overall, with a breach of Regulation 17 (Good Governance) due to ineffective monitoring of care calls, absence of annual medicines competency assessments for staff, and failure to consistently notify CQC of notifiable events. The service performs well in its caring, effective, and responsive domains, with people and relatives consistently praising kind, person-centred staff and good outcomes from care.
Concerns (5)
criticalGovernance: “The provider was not fully aware of their legal responsibility to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of all important and notifiable events or incidents.”
moderateMedication management: “The registered manager did not have a programme to regularly assess care worker's competency to manage medicines.”
moderateMissed or late visits: “22% of the 928 calls which were recorded were 45 mins late. Fifty-four calls required two care workers present and out of these 17 calls appeared that there were not two care workers present.”
moderateGovernance: “More than 87% of calls we analysed were manually logged and did not reflect the actual times of entry and exit from people's homes.”
minorPerson-centred care: “The provider did not have a robust system in place to engage and involve people using the service...some people told us they have never been asked to provide their feedback.”
Strengths
· People and relatives consistently praised staff as kind, caring, and friendly, with strong person-centred relationships.
· Risk assessments were comprehensive, regularly reviewed, and included clear guidance for staff.
· Staff received thorough inductions and ongoing training including MCA, safeguarding, manual handling, and infection control.
· Supervision meetings conducted every 6 weeks and annual appraisals supported staff wellbeing and performance.
· People's cultural, religious, and communication needs were recorded and acted upon, including matching staff to people's preferences.
Quality-Statement breakdown (23)
safe: Staffing and recruitmentRequires improvement
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesGood
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsGood
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportNot rated
well-led: Continuous learning and improving care; governance and regulatory complianceRequires improvement
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood