Annie's Healthcare Services C.I.C.

Updated 27 September 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

We gave the service 24 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 around to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we already held about the service. This included their registration report and notifications. 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. We looked at notifications we had received from the service. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records, 3 staff recruitment files, training records, risk assessments and staff rotas. We also looked at audits and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Following the inspection, we spoke with 1 person and 2 relatives by telephone to obtain their views of the service. We also contacted 5 members of staff by telephone, to ask them questions about their roles and to confirm information we had received about them during our inspection.

Updated 27 September 2023

About the service

Annie's Healthcare Services C.I.C. is a domiciliary care agency and is based in the London Borough of Redbridge. The service provides personal care to people 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 the inspection there were 12 people using the service.

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

People commented the service was safe and they or their relatives did not have any concerns. There were systems to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks associated with people's care were identified, and there was guidance for staff about how to keep people safe. There were enough staff to make sure people had the care and support they needed. The provider had a thorough recruitment and selection process for new staff. Systems were in place to make sure people received their medicine safely.

People's needs were assessed before they started to use the service. Staff had completed a structured induction and there was a varied training programme available that helped them meet the needs of the people they supported. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The registered manager worked with health care professionals to ensure people’s needs were met.

People received personalised care and support that met their individual needs and took full account of their background history and personal circumstances. Staff respected people’s choices and ensured their privacy and dignity was maintained. People and or their relatives were involved in decisions about the support they received, and their independence was respected and promoted. The provider had a complaints policy which included who to contact to raise a complaint and how it would be dealt with.

The registered manager operated an open and inclusive culture. People, their relatives, staff and other professionals were encouraged to help improve the service provided to people. The provider had systems to monitor and improve quality of the service provided. The registered manager had good links with a number of health and social care professionals, and this helped to ensure people’s needs were fully met.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published on 7 June 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.

Follow up

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