We carried out a review of the data available to us about Canterbury on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Canterbury, you can give feedback on this service.
Meridian Community Care Canterbury is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection the agency was supporting 90 people, only 69 were receiving personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care, where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service:
• People told us they felt safe and supported by staff in the way they preferred. They told us staff were very kind and knew how to keep them safe.
• Potential risks to people’s health and welfare had been assessed and there was guidance for staff to mitigate the risks.
• People had been able to plan their visits with staff and how they wanted their care provided. Care plans were reviewed regularly and people signed to agree their support. Checks and audits were completed to make sure people received a high standard of support, when shortfalls had been found, action had been taken to rectify the shortfall.
• People told us they received their medicines when they needed them, staff liaised with the GP and pharmacy to make sure people had the medicines they needed.
• People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service to make sure staff could meet their needs.
• People told us that they received their calls from regular staff who were on time and their calls had not been missed.
• People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely and received training and supervision to keep people as safe as possible.
• When people needed support to prepare their meals, staff made sure they had a balanced diet, and supported people to access health care professionals when needed.
• People were supported to be as independent as possible and lead a healthy lifestyle. People were supported to make choices and express their views about their care and daily life. Staff supported people to access the community and attend the activities they wanted.
• People told us they received support from the management and office teams when they needed it, they could phone whenever they needed and there was always someone to help.
• People told us they knew how to complain and when they had the concern had been resolved.
• The service worked with other agencies to provide joined up care including district nurses when people were at the end of their lives.
• People, staff and professionals were asked their opinions about the service. The results were analysed and an action plan put in place to address any issues raised.
Rating at last inspection:
Good (report published 21 September 2016).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. We found the service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas. The rating continues to be Good.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Meridian Care Canterbury is a domiciliary care service that provides support and personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides personal care to 96 people living in and around the Canterbury area, some people are living with dementia and mental health needs. The office is situated in an industrial estate in Hersden near Canterbury.
Rating at last inspection
At the last inspection, the service was rated good overall and requires improvement in the ‘well led’ domain.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 23 August 2016. A breach of legal requirement was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to the breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Act Regulated Activities Regulations 2014, Good Governance. We undertook this focused inspection to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met the legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meridian Care Canterbury on our website at www.cqc.org.ok
At this inspection we found the service had improved. We found the service remained good and is now rated good in the ‘well led’ domain.
Why the service is rated Good in the Well Led domain
People and staff told us they thought the service was well led. Staff told us that they were supported by the provider and registered manager and that there was an open and inclusive culture. Staff were encouraged to talk to the provider and registered manager about any problems or concerns. The provider held a ‘surgery’ once a month for staff to ‘drop in’ and discuss anything.
The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. There were records to show that identified shortfalls had been addressed and improvements made. The provider asked people, staff and relatives their opinion about the service and what improvements could be made. The provider had requested and included views from other stakeholders, like GP’s and community specialists and their feedback was included.
Staff understood the aims and objectives of the service which were to provide personalised care to people in their own home and to promote people’s independence. Staff and people were part of the continuous improvement.
The registered manager was aware of submitting notifications to CQC in an appropriate and timely manner in line with CQC guidelines.
Canterbury is a branch of Meridian Community Care, which is a domiciliary care agency that provides services within the geographical area of Canterbury and surrounding areas. Care and support is provided to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the agency was providing personal care to 75 people who were private clients, people on direct payment scheme and people referred to them by the local authority on spot contract.
There was a registered manager at 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 requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The provider had no quality assurance systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. We did not see any audits being undertaken. However, the provider was in touch with both staff and people who used the service daily.
Staff had not received regular individual one to one supervision meetings and appraisals. We have made a recommendation about this.
The provider operated safe recruitment procedures. However, there were gaps in documentations as some files had no MOT or car insurance. We have made a recommendation about this.
The provider had systems in place to manage safeguarding matters and make sure that safeguarding alerts were raised with other agencies. All of the people who were able to converse with us said that they felt safe using the agency; and said that if they had any concerns they were confident these would be quickly addressed by the registered manager. Relatives felt their people were safe using the agency.
The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. There were procedures in place and guidance was clear in relation to Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) that included steps that staff should take to comply with legal requirements.
People were treated with kindness. Staff were patient and encouraged people to do what they could for themselves, whilst allowing people time for the support they needed. Staff encouraged people to make their own choices and promoted their independence.
The agency provided sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service.
People were supported with meal planning, preparation and eating and drinking.
People said that they knew they could contact the provider at any time, and they felt confident about raising any concerns or other issues.
People spoke positively about the way the agency was run. The management team and staff understood their respective roles and responsibilities. Staff told us that the registered manager was very approachable and understanding.
During this inspection, we found a breach of regulations relating to fundamental standards of care. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
We found that individual personalised care plans were in place to make sure people were receiving the care they needed. Suitable arrangements were in place to make sure medication was managed and administered safely. People using the service said that the staff were reliable, arrived on time and stayed the full duration of the call. People said: 'The staff are marvellous'. 'I am very satisfied with the service'.
Staff recruitment records showed that new staff had been checked to make sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Systems were in place to monitor the service that people received to ensure that the service was satisfactory and safe.
People told us they did not have any complaints but would not hesitate to speak to the manger or staff if they had any concerns.
People said they had been given information about the service to understand what care to expect from them so that they could be supported to make decisions about their care.
People spoken with told us they did not have any complaints about the service but would not hesitate to discuss any issues with the staff or management team. They said that the staff were well trained, they were good at their job and worked well as a team.
People told us that they were satisfied with the care they were receiving. They said that the staff were polite and respectful. They told us that overall the staff arrived on time and stayed the full time of the call. They were reliable and provided a good service.
People said they had been given information about the service to understand what care to expect from them so that they could be supported to make decisions about their care.
People spoken with told us they did not have any complaints about the service but would not hesitate to discuss any issues with the staff or management team. They said that the staff were well trained, they were good at their job and worked well as a team.