Evolving Care

Updated 2 February 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and we wanted to ensure members of the management team were available to assist with the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 November 2022 and ended on 28 November 2022. We visited the location’s office on 9 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent to us on the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send to us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people and 2 relatives about their experience of the support provided. We spoke with members of staff including the registered manager, branch manager, quality assurance officer and care staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed. This included 7 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 2 February 2023

About the service

Evolving Care is a homecare agency providing personal care to older people and people with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 40 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received a safe service. Systems were in place to protect people from harm. Recruitment of new staff was robust. Assessments were in place to recognise the risks faced by people in their daily lives as well as risks presented by their home environment and to reflect the lone-worker status of staff. Medication was appropriately managed to promote people’s wellbeing. The spread of infection was minimised by good standards of hygiene maintained by staff.

Assessments of people’s needs were obtained prior to them receiving support. This information was used to form person-centred care plans. Staff were trained for their roles and a structured induction process ensured that new staff were prepared to support people in line with good practice. The capacity of people to make decisions about their daily lives were in place.

People felt that they were respected by the service and were involved in their support. People’s personal details were protected.

Care plans were person-centred and included an overview of the lifestyle and preferences of people. A system for investigating complaints was in place with evidence on how these had been addressed for the future.

The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities as a registered person. People and their families had the opportunity to comment on the standard of support provided. Quality assurance systems were in place to measure the quality of support with enhancements to systems being considered.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to give the service its first rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.