We carried out a review of the data available to us about ENS Care & Support on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about ENS Care & Support, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
ENS Care & Support provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes or within a supported living setting.
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. At the time of our inspection 59 people were using the service, of which 28 were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.
Right support
• People were supported to have choice, control and independence.
• People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and maintain relationships with family and friends.
• Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.
• Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
• People received kind and compassionate care. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.
• People who had individual ways of communicating, such as using body language, pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care because staff had the necessary skills to understand them.
• People’s care plans reflected their range of needs to guide staff on how to promote their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.
• Potential risks to people had been identified, assessed and managed to reduce the risk of harm.
Right culture
• People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff.
• People received good quality care and support by trained staff.
• Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.
• Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.
We received largely positive feedback from people, relatives and health and social care professionals about the quality of care people received. However, we received mixed feedback regarding staffing levels.
Robust systems were in place for the recruitment of staff.
Staff received regular supervision and on-going training which promoted people’s health, safety and welfare. Staff felt valued and supported and enjoyed working at the service.
The provider had systems and processes in place to regularly monitor the safety and quality of the service to drive improvements.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 27 February 2020).
At our last inspection we recommended the provider reviewed if restrictive interventions had been used when incidents occur, in line with best practice. We also recommended the provider ensured staff had behaviour support training in line with current best practice. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on these recommendations and had made improvements.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
ENS Limited was providing personal care and support to 55 people at the time of the inspection.
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.
About the service: This service provides care and support to some people who live in a supported living setting. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. Other people received personal care and support in their own homes.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service:
People told us they were safe with the staff that supported them. Risk assessments covered all areas of risk and staff knew how to keep people safe from harm. We have made a recommendation about restrictive interventions. Staff had received training in infection control and had access to personal protective equipment. People were supported to take their medicine in a safe way.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
People told us they received effective care, from trained staff. Staff were trained in a range of topics. We have made a recommendation about positive behaviour support training. People told us they were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Staff supported people to maintain a healthy diet, in line with their assessed needs and were supported to access health care if this was needed.
Staff were kind and caring and had developed positive relationships with people. Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s privacy dignity and independence.
Assessments and support plans were in place identifying what was important to people and how people needed to be supported. The support people received was centred around them and they were involved in any decisions made. The provider had a complaint’s process which people were aware of to share any concerns. At the time of the inspection, no one being supported at the end of their life.
The audit and governance system could not always show that improvements were always made if this was needed. We have made a recommendation about sexual safety.
The registered manager had worked in partnership with the local community. People spoke positively about the service and the quality of the support being provided.
Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection.
Rating at last inspection: The last rating for this service was Good. (16 April 2017)
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
ENS Recruitment LTD is registered to provide personal care to people in their own home. The service provides care and support to people who purchase care privately, through direct payments and who are funded by the local authority. Majority of people supported by ENS are housed in supported living schemes or in 24 hour live in care across Essex. ENS provides individualised support to people in the community who have a wide range of needs due to living with learning disabilities or are on the autism spectrum. The service assists individuals to maintain their independence and to take part in a variety of community based activities this includes access to work.
The service has a registered manager. ‘A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.’
People, without exception, told us they felt safe due to the support being provided by the service. The service worked hard to ensure that personalised and suitable arrangements were in place to ensure that people received appropriate care and support to meet their needs and the service continually looked at other ways in which it could improve people’s lives by empowering them to do as much as they could but maintaining their safety at all times.
The dedication of the service to ensuring medication support for people was central to people’s wellbeing meant that it had significantly changed some people’s lives in really positive ways. Recruitment of staff was detailed and very robust including detailed work on immigration checks and safety checks of prospective staff members to ensure they were suitable to support people.
The service ensured that all staff knew the needs of the people they supported and they were treated with respect and dignity. People’s healthcare needs were well managed and they had access to a range of healthcare professionals.
People’s needs were met by sufficient numbers of staff. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure that staff had been recruited safely; they received opportunities for training and supervision. People were safeguarded from harm; Staff had received training in Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and had knowledge of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The manager was aware of how and when to make a referral. People had sufficient amounts to eat and drink to ensure that their dietary and nutrition needs were being met.
People were provided with the opportunity to participate and engage in activities of their choice which met their needs. Relatives and people who used the service knew how to make a complaint and we felt reassured that all complaints would be dealt with and resolved efficiently and in a timely manner due to the service having a robust complaints system in place.
Records viewed showed that support plans covered all aspects of a person's individual circumstances. The provider had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that staff were recruited appropriately and that there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet the provider's business needs. Although we initially found that improvements were required in relation to the management of medicines, there was evidence to show that the provider had taken corrective actions to ensure that they were compliant with the regulation.
Staff told us they receive on-going training provided by the company which supports them in delivering good care.
The management actively seeks the opinion of people they care for, their relatives and staff to ensure that the care they deliver is of a high standard and it is what people want.
People told us that staff treated them well and that they felt safe using the service. They
told us that they were involved and asked to contribute their views, comments and
suggestions as part of the overall process for monitoring and improving services they
received.