Eveready Carers

Updated 15 February 2024

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff. Inspection activity started on 3 November 2023 and finished on 4 January 2024.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one 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 and specialist housing.

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

The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 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.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we held about the provider including information related to the incident. 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 1 relative of a person who used the service, but were not able to speak to either person using the service. One person was no longer using the service during the course of our inspection. We spoke with the registered manager and 2 care workers. We viewed a range of records. This included 2 people's risk management plans and care records. We saw 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including medicines support records, audits, meeting records and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 15 February 2024

About the service

Eveready Carers is a domiciliary care service providing personal care. The service provides support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people in receipt of personal care, but this was later reduced to one person.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People were safe using the service and staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. However, the provider was not clear about the circumstances in which they were required to notify CQC of safeguarding incidents. As a result, the provider failed to report a safeguarding concern. People’s care and risk management plans were clear and comprehensive. Staff received regular training, supervision and the provider checked their competency.

The provider had appropriate infection prevention and control measures in place and staff supported people with their medicines appropriately. There were appropriate procedures for responding to and learning from accidents and incidents. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and the provider operated safe recruitment processes. Staff communicated with people effectively and gave appropriate support with their nutritional needs.

There was a clear complaints policy and procedure in place and there were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People and staff were asked to give feedback about the service. The service worked in partnership with other professionals to meet people’s needs. 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.

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 on 8 December 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk of people’s health conditions. This inspection examined those risks.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations relating to the provider’s care planning and in relation to submitting notifications.

Follow Up

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