Date of assessment: The assessment commenced on 25th March 2025 and concluded on 7th May 2025. Violet Care Agency Ltd – HSCA is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 155 people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. The last inspection of this service was rated as Requires Improvement (Published 19 August 2023). The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations. This assessment was carried out due to the length of time since the previous rating and breaches of regulations. During the assessment we spoke with the registered manager and received feedback from 7 care staff. The service had systems in place to help ensure people received a good standard of care and support was managed safely. Where the provider’s governance system had identified any areas as needing further development, actions were implemented to make the changes. The team worked with external professionals to help ensure people received the right care and any additional support. The management team were available for people and staff providing support and guidance. Staff received training and supervision. There were regular training and learning updates. People, relatives, and staff had opportunities to share their views. We were told the management team were responsive and helpful. The staff team was organised to help ensure visits happened when planned for the expected time and in a person-centred way. Effective communication was in place if visits were going to be delayed. Staff were positive about the service they provided, the management team and liked working for Violet Care Agency.
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Violet Care Agency Ltd was rated Requires Improvement overall following a June–July 2023 inspection, with breaches of Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (good governance) identified. Rapid service growth from 56 to 187 people was poorly managed, resulting in missed visits, inadequate risk assessments for new referrals, and insufficient oversight of staff safety practices.
Concerns (10)
criticalGovernance: “The provider's systems and processes to assess, monitor and mitigate risks across the service were not always effective. This was a breach of Regulation 17 (2) (a) (b) [Good governance]”
criticalMissed or late visits: “New referrals had not always been entered promptly onto the service's electronic tracking system. This meant staff monitoring the tracker had not picked up a number of missed visits.”
criticalSafeguarding: “We found examples however where the service had dealt with concerns but had not raised appropriate referrals.”
moderateCare planning: “Risk assessments and care plans were detailed. However, they were not always updated, after a review or when circumstances changed.”
moderateStaff competency: “A social care professional said, 'I don't use Violet Care for people with complex needs as I can't guarantee their safety.'”
moderateIncident learning: “There were some gaps in investigations, for example, why staff had not called 999 in an emergency. This meant the registered manager had not picked up the above concerns.”
moderateRecord keeping: “40% of call times had been manually inputted by staff who had recorded they had completed visits exactly as planned... none of these hundreds of visits had been shorter than planned.”
moderateLeadership: “The provider told us saw their role as being one of 'developing people to be leaders in adult social care,' rather than being involved in the day to day running of the service.”
minorCommunication with families: “A relative said, 'When I complained about poor care, I kept getting different managers and staff phoning and apologising.'”
minorPerson-centred care: “Staff just handed my family member an orange but didn't realise they had forgotten how to peel it. Person will stop eating if no one is there to encourage them.”
Strengths
· Care plans were detailed and personalised with person-centred and respectful content.
· Staff were safely recruited including DBS checks.
· Effective infection prevention and control measures were in place; staff used PPE correctly.
· Recent improvements to safeguarding training and medicines administration were made promptly following concerns.
· Staff morale was good and staff felt well supported; provider focused on staff wellbeing and leadership development.
Quality-Statement breakdown (10)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementRequires improvement
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
safe: Staffing and recruitmentRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseRequires improvement
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirements; Continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringRequires improvement
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service; duty of candourRequires improvement
well-led: Working in partnership with othersRequires improvement