Graceage Care Colchester

Updated 1 March 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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

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

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 13 December 2022 and ended on 11 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 14 December 2022 and 21 December 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who used the service, and 6 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke to 5 members of staff, including the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed 5 peoples care files, and 4 staff files in relation to recruitment.

We also reviewed a range of documents relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. After the inspection we received additional information from the provider, as requested.

Updated 1 March 2023

About the service

Graceage Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in the own flats and houses. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service. 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

At the time of inspection, the service had only been operating for 3 months. The provider did not yet have robust systems in place to have good oversight of the service. Care plans and risk assessments did not always contain enough information, and the service did not have audits in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided.

We have made recommendations about the assessment and monitoring of risk and the assessment and recording of people's care and support needs.

Peoples medicines were managed by staff, however, audits were not undertaken to ensure people were receiving their medicines as prescribed. Staff were recruited safely and in line with best practice guidance, and all staff had received training to complete their roles appropriately.

The providers understanding of people’s capacity, and capacity assessments was minimal, however, additional training and guidance was being sought to improve this. Care plans contained basic information about people’s likes and preferences, and were more task focused. People’s end of life wishes had not always been considered or documented in their care plans. People gave us mixed feedback about staff preparing food and drink.

People told us staff were kind and respectful, encouraging their independence. People spoke positively about the care they received, and the staff providing their care. People were asked for input on their care plans when they were reviewed.

The registered manager was open and transparent, and demonstrated great enthusiasm in looking to improve the service, and the care provided to people. The provider worked well with external agencies to drive improvement, and people and families’ feedback was actively sought. The provider had commissioned an external consultant to help identify improvements needed within the service.

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 did not always support 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 16 November 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to governance and oversight at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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