Archived: Mercia Homecare Limited

Updated 3 August 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 1 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 48 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 19 June 2023 and ended on 27 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 20 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We also requested feedback from Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who used the service, 4 family members and 1 close friend about their experience of the care provided.

We spoke with 5 members of staff including the registered manager, the provider, who is also the nominated individual, senior care staff and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care records and medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, audits, and training records, were reviewed.

Updated 3 August 2023

About the service

Mercia Homecare Limited is a domically care agency that provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. The service is registered to support younger adults and older people and people living with dementia.

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 13 people using the service were receiving personal care.

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

The provider had processes in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff had been trained on how to recognise and report abuse and knew how to protect people. They were confident any concerns raised with the management team would be listened to and acted on. People and their relatives told us they felt safe with staff in their homes, their calls never felt rushed, and they had always experienced a caring attitude from staff. Risks to people were assessed, monitored, and managed appropriately. Medicines were safely administered, or where appropriate people were prompted to take their medicines safely. Staff had been provided with training in the prevention and control of infection.

People’s needs were assessed as part of their initial assessment. Care continued to be regularly reviewed to ensure care needs continued to be met. Where required, people were supported to eat and drink to maintain a nutritional diet and were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

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.

People told us they were involved in making choices and decisions about their care and support. Care plans were personalised and contained information for staff to follow. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with service.

The service was well-led. The provider and registered manager had developed a positive culture. Staff spoke positively about the management team and their values. The provider and registered manager had systems in place to oversee and assess the quality of the service and to ensure people received high quality care. People and relatives were provided with opportunities to feedback on the service they received. The registered manager understood their regulatory responsibilities.

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 23 December 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.

Follow up

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