# First Choice Home Care (Halesworth)

*Operated by First Choice Home Care Ltd.*

First Choice Home Care (Halesworth) is a CQC-regulated home-care agency in Halesworth.

## CQC Ratings

| Key question | Rating |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | Good |
| Safe | Good |
| Effective | Good |
| Caring | Good |
| Responsive | Good |
| Well-led | Good |

Rating published: 24/11/2023

## Practical info

- Postcode: IP19 8AY
- Local authority: Suffolk
- Region: East
- City: Halesworth
- Last CQC check: 24/Nov/2023 - 00:00

## Inspection findings

### effective

- Finding
  - Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidance
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely care
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Staff support: induction, training, skills and experience
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the law
  - Published: 2023-11-24

### Other

- Finding
  - Evidence: Dedicated recruiter employed to address staffing challenges in rural area
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: Accidents and incidents reviewed and lessons shared at staff meetings
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: New staff completed Care Certificate and shadow shifts before lone working
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: Comprehensive risk assessments covering nutrition, moving and handling, medicines, and skin integrity
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: Staff trained in safeguarding and understood their reporting responsibilities
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: People reported feeling safe; medicines managed safely with monthly audits and competency checks
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: Safe recruitment processes including DBS checks, references, and right to work verification
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Evidence: Over 97% of calls made within 15 minutes of agreed time according to electronic monitoring data
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- **leadership** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: Some care staff described a lack of support from the management team and office staff. A carer said, "People have literally been driven out by the way the company is being run."
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- **supervision_appraisal** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: Some staff told us that 1:1 and supervisions were not carried out regularly...some had not taken place and they had fallen behind.
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- **missed_or_late_visits** _(minor)_
  - Evidence: Some people raised concerns that care staff did not always arrive at the agreed time.
  - Published: 2023-11-24

### safe

- Finding
  - Learning lessons when things go wrong
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Preventing and controlling infection
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Using medicines safely
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Staffing and recruitment
  - Published: 2023-11-24

### well_led

- Finding
  - Working in partnership with others
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Continuous learning and improving care
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candour
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering
  - Published: 2023-11-24
- Finding
  - Working in partnership with others
  - Published: 2019-06-20
- Finding
  - Continuous learning and improving care
  - Published: 2019-06-20
- Finding
  - Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff
  - Published: 2019-06-20

## Source

Data published by the [Care Quality Commission](https://www.cqc.org.uk/) under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Canonical page: https://homecarecompass.co.uk/agency/1-4707843133

HomeCare Compass is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the CQC.