Carelink Healthcare Professionals Ltd is rated Good overall following a January 2024 inspection of this 84-person domiciliary care agency in Leicestershire, with Safe and Effective rated Good. Well-Led was downgraded to Requires Improvement due to insufficient governance oversight and failure to act on issues raised in staff and service user surveys.
Concerns (6)
moderateGovernance: “Systems and practices for oversight and governance of the service were insufficient to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.”
moderateIncident learning: “The system of auditing had not identified improvements were needed to evidence all issues raised by people and staff had been followed up.”
moderateSupervision / appraisal: “Three of the 4 staff we spoke with said that there had been issues with a lack of management support in issues such as working long hours, being expected to respond to care calls on their days off.”
minorPerson-centred care: “Actions were not always identified and acted on in surveys completed by people and staff. For example, 1 person stated they were not informed of changes to call times.”
minorCommunication with families: “Another person stated some staff were difficult to understand because of strong accents. However, there was no evidence in place to show these issues had been followed up.”
minorCultural competency: “A staff member had highlighted in a survey there needed to be more support for overseas staff such as a handbook explaining English phrases, habits and food preparation.”
Strengths
· Risk assessments were in place covering moving and handling and pressure sores, with clear staff guidance to reduce risks.
· Safe recruitment practices including DBS checks ensured only suitable staff worked at the service.
· People and relatives were very positive about the care provided, describing staff as professional, respectful and friendly.
· Medicines were safely administered with a medicines audit system and staff competency checks in place.
· Staff received induction, relevant training and refresher training including infection control and medication.
Quality-Statement breakdown (15)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
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
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff; Promoting a positive cultureRequires improvement
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles; Continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
Carelink Healthcare Professionals Ltd was rated Good across all five key questions at its May 2016 inspection, demonstrating safe, person-centred domiciliary care with strong staff training, consistent care workers and effective quality assurance. Minor recording gaps were identified around MAR charts, lasting power of attorney documentation and formal supervision frequency, all of which the registered manager agreed to address.
Concerns (3)
minorMedication management: “We saw that the MAR chart did not record specific medicines that people took. It was recorded that people took the contents of their dosset box.”
minorRecord keeping: “Where people did have a LPA this had not always been recorded in the care plan and a copy of the agreement had not been included in the file.”
minorSupervision / appraisal: “We found that staff had not had many formal supervisions. However the registered manager told us that staff were on contracts where they did not always work regularly.”
Strengths
· People felt safe and reported staff were reliable and on time, with management covering calls if needed.
· Robust recruitment procedures with all pre-employment checks completed before staff started work.
· Staff received role-specific training, including catheter care, and were assessed for competency in medicines administration.
· Care plans were personalised, containing information about preferences, routines, likes and dislikes.
· Consistent staff allocation promoted continuity of care and relationship-building with people.
Carelink Healthcare Professionals Ltd received a Good rating across all five key questions at its March 2019 inspection, with 102 people receiving a safe, personalised and responsive domiciliary care service. The provider demonstrated strong continuity of care, effective quality assurance, and a compassionate, culturally aware workforce, with no regulatory breaches or failure themes identified.
Strengths
· People felt safe and expressed high trust in support workers, with 17 returned questionnaires all reporting no feeling of unease or intimidation by staff.
· Support workers organised into small geographical teams ensuring continuity, with most people supported by no more than five regular staff.
· Thorough recruitment process including DBS checks, references, and shadowing experienced colleagues before working independently.
· Medicines administered safely with audits conducted by registered nurse senior staff.
· 95% of visits were within 15 minutes of the expected time, supported by a real-time scheduling system alerting staff to overdue visits.
Quality-Statement breakdown (22)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
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 skills, knowledge and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough with choice in 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; 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 meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsGood
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support; duty of candourGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood