Palm 2 Palm Care Services - Enfield

Updated 12 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 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 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 08 June 2023 and ended on 14 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 08 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with us. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, a director, 1 field care supervisor and 2 care staff. We also spoke with 2 people and 9 relatives of people using the service.

We looked at a range of documents and written records including 5 people's care records, 3 staff recruitment records and information relating to staff training and the auditing and monitoring of service provision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We continued to look at records the registered manager shared with us.

Updated 12 August 2023

Palm 2 Palm Care Services – Enfield is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides support to older people, people living with Dementia and young adults in their own homes.

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 there were 29 people using the service.

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

People received safe care from staff who knew them well. There were safeguarding policies in place and the registered manager and staff knew how to identify and report concerns.

Staff protected people from harm and followed risk assessments to ensure they were supported in a safe way. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff wore personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, when supporting people and were trained in infection control.

People's needs were fully assessed prior to the start of the care package. The provider ensured staff were trained to meet people's needs and kept them up to date with best practice guidance.

People's care needs and any equality characteristics were assessed. Care plans recorded how people's needs could be met and prevent discrimination.

People and their relatives told us staff who supported them were kind and caring and treated them with respect. Staff understood the importance of respecting people's diverse needs and promoting independence.

People had access to health and social care professionals where required in a timely way. People were supported by staff to maintain a balanced diet where this was part of their care package.

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. Staff were trained and supported to understand their roles and responsibilities.

The provider actively engaged with people and staff to be able to continuously learn, expand and improve the service they provided.

Auditing and quality assurance processes were in place to enable the service to identify where improvement was needed.

The service worked in partnership with other agencies to make sure people received the right care and support.

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 07 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Palm 2 Palm Care Services – Enfield on our 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.