Archived: Homecare UK (Dagenham)

Updated 24 October 2017

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.

The inspection was carried out on 3 October 2017 and was announced. The inspection was announced as we needed to make sure that someone would be available to support us with the inspection. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed relevant information that we had about the provider including any notifications of safeguarding or incidents affecting the safety and wellbeing of people. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the service. We reviewed one care plan, which included risk assessments and we looked at staff files, which included pre-employment checks. We looked at other documents held at the service such as training, supervision and quality assurance records.

After the inspection, we spoke with one person.

Updated 24 October 2017

We carried out an announced inspection of Homecare UK (Dagenham) on 3 October 2017. The service is registered to provide support with personal care to people living in their own homes.

At our last comprehensive inspection on 22 December 2016, we found a breach of regulation relating to pre-employment checks. The service had not followed its own policy and procedure with regard to obtaining references during the staff recruitment process. During this inspection we found improvements had been made.

The service had a registered manager. The registered manager also worked as a care worker and was the only person employed by the service. 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 legal responsibility for meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the associated regulations on how the service is run.

Risks had been identified and assessments had been carried out to reduce these. The registered manager was aware of how to identify abuse and knew who to report abuse to within the organisation and externally. Staff and the people they supported had no concerns with staffing levels. People did not raise any concerns about time-keeping and attendance by staff. Pre-employment checks had been carried out to ensure staff were fit and suitable to provide care and support to people safely.

Staff had received training required to perform their roles effectively. People were supported by staff who felt supported. Supervisions were being carried out regularly. Staff were aware of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People had capacity to make their own choices. Staff knew the signs if people were not well and how to access relevant health services. The service offered people choices with meal times and knew people’s preferences.

Staff had positive relationships with the people they supported. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff. Care plans were person centred and detailed people’s preferences, interests and support needs. People were involved with making decisions on their care. There was a complaints policy in place and staff were aware on how to manage complaints, which was in accordance with the complaints policy.

The registered manager felt supported by the provider and told us the culture was open and transparent. People’s feedbacks were sought from regular reviews with the registered manager and provider to identify areas for improvement. Quality assurance systems were in place that included auditing care plans, which was then fed back to staff.