Background to this inspection
Updated
22 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 team consisted of an inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. At the time of this inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager was also the provider’s nominated individual, this meant they were legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
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 where the registered manager also provided care calls and we needed to be sure that they would be available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 27 January 2023 when we visited the office. Telephone calls were made offsite to relatives and staff. Inspection activity ended when we had a face to face meeting via video call with management on 9 February 2023 to give feedback.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed our systems and information we held about 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 of this information to help plan our inspection.
During the inspection
People who used the service were unable to speak with us. We received feedback from 3 relatives about their experience of Ekklesia Healthcare Ltd.
We spoke with the registered manager who was also the provider’s nominated individual, the care coordinator and 2 members of staff. We received electronic feedback from 2 members of staff and the local authority commissioning team.
We reviewed a range of records which included risk assessments for 2 people and 2 staff recruitment records. We also viewed some of the provider’s policies and procedures, training data, quality assurance records, management monitoring and oversight records.
Updated
22 February 2023
About the service
Ekklesia Healthcare is a small domiciliary care service providing care to 4 people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We were not able to speak with the people who used the service but received feedback from 3 relatives. All were complimentary about their experience with Ekklesia Healthcare and would recommend the service. One relative said, “This agency has never let us down and we have a good understanding with the care staff that come.”
The management and staff worked with people, relatives and other professionals to achieve person-centred care and good outcomes for people.
Risks to people had been assessed and were managed safely. People were supported by a staff team who were safely recruited and knew how to protect them from potential harm. Staff were up to date with their training and had their competencies regularly checked by the registered manager.
Staff felt supported and valued in their role by the management team and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People received their care visits at the times they expected, for the length of time agreed, and from staff they knew.
At the time of the inspection no one was being supported with their medicines. Staff adhered to infection prevention and control procedures in line with legislative requirements and recognised best practice guidelines.
People's care records were re-assessed regularly and guided staff on how to assist people safely and encourage their independence.
Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people and ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected. 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.
Relatives described being able to raise any issues with the staff and management team and were confident these would be addressed.
The registered manager delivered care and maintained an overview of activities. Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place with plans to develop them further. We signposted the management to seek further support in this area from the local authority commission team.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The service was registered with us 30 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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.