The Care Quality Commission
  • Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Archived: ECM Domicilary Care Limited

200 Hall Street, Offerton, Stockport, Greater Manchester, SK1 4JG (0161) 480 9190

Provided and run by:
E C M Domicillary Care Limited

All Inspections

15, 16, 20, 22 January 2014

During an inspection looking at part of the service

When we inspected ECM in August 2013 we found that improvements were needed to protect people from receiving inappropriate or unsafe care. We took enforcement action and served warning notices on care and welfare, quality assurance and records.

We told the provider that the warning notices must be met by the end of November 2013 to protect the health, safety and welfare of people using this service.

We carried out this inspection to follow up on action taken by the provider to ensure people were receiving safe and appropriate care.

During the course of our inspection we contacted twenty people who used the service and spoke directly with them or their family members on the telephone. We visited three people in their own homes and spoke with them and their family members about the quality of care and services provided. The views of the people we spoke with varied.

Some of the people who used the service told us that they were satisfied about the way their privacy, dignity and independence was being respected and made positive comments. Other people told us that the standard of care varied depending on whether the carer sent had the necessary skills and experience to meet their needs and some described incidences of poor and inadequate care.

We found that some improvements had been made in some areas but people who used the service remained at risk of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care.

16, 19, 22, 29 August 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We visited four people who used the service in their home; we spoke with three people by telephone and spoke to eight family members either during a visit to a person's home or by telephone. We spoke with two members of staff on the telephone and one during a visit to a person's home. We also spoke with the provider/manager and deputy manager/assessor.

People told us that the care they received from the care workers was good. We were told 'I am pleased with the service, they do a good job ' three particularly ' but others are alright'. People also told us that they could tell people at the office if they were not happy with the service. One person said 'They were very good when I made a complaint'.

We looked at the care plans of six people and found that assessment and care planning was not always carried out in a timely or effective manner. Because of this people were not adequately protected from inappropriate care because records about their care and welfare were not always accurate or up to date.

We found that people had been overcharged for the services they had received. We also found that people did not have up to date contracts. One person told us 'The invoices are confusing ' no organisation at the office'.

We found that there had been little progress in the improvement of records and quality assurance since our previous inspection of April 2013 and that further action needs to be taken to ensure the health and welfare of people who use the service.

4, 9 April 2013

During a routine inspection

We visited the office premises of ECM and spoke with the Registered Manager/Provider and the person who conducted the training and assessed the people who use the service. We also visited four people's homes where we spoke with six people. We also spoke by telephone to a district nurse, a social worker, eight care workers and a further three people who use the service.

We also looked at the personnel files of four people who had recently been employed by the service and the care files in the people's homes we visited.

People told us that when they first received a service there were missed and late calls. However they told us that when they complained a meeting was called and the service had improved.

People said that the care workers were very kind and caring. People said 'The staff are nice, pleasant and respectful'; 'The staff will do what I ask and I have no complaints'; 'The staff are very friendly and there is lots of friendly conversation.'

We had mixed comments from the people who worked for ECM. Some people told us that they had formal meetings and felt supported by the Managers but others said that they did not have formal meetings.

We found that the record keeping and monitoring of the service for quality and consistency to ensure that people are kept safe is a cause for concern.

20 September 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

We visited ECM on 20 September 2012 as a follow up to our previous visit 6 July 2012 in regard to outcome 4 care and welfare of people who use services; outcome 7 safeguarding people who use services from abuse: outcome 9 management of medicines; outcome 12 requirements relating to workers; outcome 16 assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision; and outcome 21 records. We also visited as a response to information we received.

During this visit to the office premises on 20 September 2012 we spoke with the provider/manager, deputy manager and one care worker. We also looked at records which included care files of people who used the service, personnel files of employees and the complaints record..

We visited one person who used the service in their home and spoke with one person who used the service on the telephone. We also spoke with one family member. During our visit to the person's home we were able to speak with one of the care workers.

Comments we received from the people we had contact with and from the evaluation forms we saw were positive. People said that their privacy and dignity were respected. We were told 'The carers are very good and I like them'. 'At first they were not always on time but it has improved from when they first started'. One of the care workers told us 'I feel that ECM has got a lot better; they seem to be more organised this past month'. 'They are getting things organised and sorted out'.

6 July 2012

During a routine inspection

We visited the office of ECM domiciliary care agency on the 6 July 2012. We also visited three people who used the service in their homes and spoke with the family members of two others.

During our visit to the office we spoke with the provider/manager and the deputy manager. Three care workers were also spoken with either during a visit to someone's home or by telephone.

People who used the service that we had contact with told us that generally they were happy with the service provided. We were told that initially there had been problems with numbers of different care workers but after discussing this with the provider/manager things had improved. One person also said that they had late calls but that it was not a problem. The person said 'They tell me if they are going to be late'. Another said; 'Now really good, much better in the last couple of months due to same carers'. None of the people we spoke with had any complaints.

However we have received information from Cheshire East and Stockport social services quality and monitoring departments telling us that there have been a number of complaints received about missed and late calls. CQC had received information that two of these complaints had been submitted as safeguarding investigations; one for each of the local authorities. At the time of writing this report one complaint had been substantiated and one was still ongoing. The provider/manager had taken action regarding the complaint that was substantiated.

The quality and monitoring departments had been told that systems had been put in place to reduce the number of missed and late calls. However at the time of this visit it was too soon to judge the impact or effectiveness of the new processes.

We also found that record keeping required improvement to make sure that people who used the service were kept safe, received care that met their changing needs and that confidentiality of information was maintained. Records to show that care workers received a thorough recruitment check and were able to access a training programme which included refresher training must be in place.

24 August 2011

During a routine inspection

We visited the office of ECM domiciliary care agency on the 16 August 2011 and spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and two other members of the office team. As we needed to make sure that the office would be open and the registered manager available we gave 24 hours notice of our visit.

We also gave notice of our visits to people's homes in order to gain their consent and respect their privacy and confidentiality. These visits took place on the 18, 19 and 24 August 2011.

During our visit to the office premises we looked how people were assessed for the care they would need. We also looked at the care plans and how complaints were managed. Although the outcomes for people were satisfactory and people's needs were being met we have asked the managers to make some improvements to the way in which they keep records. These improvements will help the agency to continue to keep people safe and make sure that their needs are being met at all times. When looking at the medication records we told the manager that they were not satisfactory. By the time we came to the end of our visit on the 16 August 2011, the manager had accessed better forms to use. When we visited people's homes a few days later the new medication records were being used and completed satisfactorily.

We spoke with two people who used the service by telephone and visited three others in their homes. During the visits to people's homes we spoke with a family member and four members of staff. We also spoke with one member of staff by telephone. During the home visits we saw that the care workers treated the people who were using the service with respect. People were relaxed and friendly.

Everyone we spoke with told us that they had no complaints or concerns. Some of the comments we received were; 'feel able to tell them if anything wrong'; 'very approachable'; 'always get the same carer'; 'very friendly'; 'always kind to me'; ' been very very good'. They also said that mostly people arrived on time, stayed for the allocated time and did not miss a visit.

People told us that the care workers were always clean and tidy and that they respected their dignity, privacy and independence.

The care workers said that they had received an induction which included mandatory training in such areas as moving and handling, safe guarding adults, first aid and infection control. They also told us that they had gone through a recruitment process which included a criminal record bureau check. All of the care workers we spoke with had previous experience in working in the care sector.

We contacted the care managers of Cheshire East County Council to ask them for their views and opinions of the service. There had been, when the agency first commenced at the beginning of 2011, a number of complaints one of which had led to a safeguarding investigation. The manager said that they had learned from this experience and taken action to prevent it happening again. The care managers told us that the service had improved and that currently they had no concerns.