Archived: Easington District

Updated 22 September 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 July 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider two days notice of our visit. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Before we visited the agency we checked the information we held about this location and the service provider, for example we looked at the inspection history, safeguarding notifications and complaints. We also contacted professionals involved in caring for people who used the service, including commissioners and safeguarding. No concerns were raised by any of these professionals.

During our inspection we went to the provider’s head office and spoke to the registered manager and the administrative assistant. We looked at the personal care or treatment records of the three people who used the service, looked at the personnel files for three members of staff and records relating to the management of the service, such as audits, surveys and policies.

After the inspection visit we undertook phone calls to two care workers, one relative of a person who used the service and one social care professional.

For this inspection, the provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We spoke with the registered manager about what was good about their service and any improvements they intended to make.

Updated 22 September 2015

We undertook an announced inspection of the Easington District Crossroads on 23 July 2015. We gave the provider two days notice of our visit. The Easington District Crossroads is a domiciliary care agency which provides care services to people in their own homes.

At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to three people. One person was funding their own care, one person was funding their care through a direct payment and one person had their care purchased by a local authority.

Easington District Crossroads was last inspected by CQC on 27 January 2014 and was meeting the regulations inspected.

People who used the service were not able to share their experience of care due to their complex needs. People’s relatives were complimentary about the standard of care and support provided by Easington District Crossroads. One relative told us, “It’s a fantastic service”, “I can’t fault it” and “The staff are lovely and very helpful.”

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager was accessible and approachable. Staff, people who used the service and their relatives felt able to speak with the registered manager and provided feedback on the service. The registered manager undertook monthly spot checks to review the quality of the service provided.

People were kept safe and free from harm. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. Staff were able to accommodate last minute changes to appointments as requested by the people who used the service or their relatives.

The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant checks when they employed staff. Staff were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities however some training was not up to date. Staff had the experience required to support people with their care and support needs.

Staff received supervision and appraisal which meant that staff were properly supported to provide care to people who used the service.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. Care plans were written in a person centred way and were reviewed annually or when people’s needs changed.

Staff supported people to help them maintain their independence. People were encouraged to care for themselves where possible. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.