Archived: Interserve Healthcare - Suffolk and Essex

Interserve Healthcare - Suffolk and Essex is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to children and adults living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 22 people were using the service which included four children. The service also provided live in support.

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

People and their families told us they were happy with the care they received from the service. They felt safe with the staff who supported them.

Risks to people had been assessed and staff knew what to do to keep people safe. Staff followed good infection control practices and equipment was available for them to use. People’s medicines were safely managed by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent.

Safe recruitment practices were in place. There were enough staff to meet people’s current needs and the recruitment of suitable staff was ongoing. Lessons were learnt when things had gone wrong.

People received their calls from regular staff who knew them well. Staff were generally on time and stayed for the full duration of the agreed call times. Office and management staff were helpful and efficient.

Staff were trained well and competent in their role. Staff received supervision and appraisals to monitor their performance and identify any learning needs.

Where required people received help with eating and drinking which met their needs and preferences. Health and social care professionals provided support and advice to staff and liaised closely with the service in relation to people’s health and wellbeing.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and their families were treated with dignity and respect and their independence was promoted. Privacy was encouraged and maintained.

People’s needs had been assessed and their wishes and preferences were known and respected. The service was responsive to people’s needs and provided care and support the way people liked it. There were policies and procedures in place to manage complaints appropriately. Children and adults were cared for at the end of their life.

People, their relatives and staff were positive about how the service was managed. The registered manager and deputy manager were visible and approachable. Staff had the opportunity to develop their knowledge and felt well supported.

Systems were in place to ensure good oversight of the service. Quality assurance processes to monitor safety and quality and identify any areas requiring improvement were robust.

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 24 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Interserve Healthcare Colchester provides domiciliary care and support for people in their own home. The service provides personal care, help, and support to people with a variety of needs. Care services are delivered to adults, children and young people with varying conditions including spinal injuries, acquired brain injuries, learning disabilities and mental health requirements. At the time of our inspection 28 adults and three children were receiving the regulated activity of personal care and / or treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The service had a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives told us that usually there was enough staff to meet people`s needs. However they told us that on occasions when staff did not turn up for their allocated shifts and they could not be replaced by the provider. This meant that people`s relatives had to look after people`s needs until the next shift started.

People and their relatives told us that the service was safe when delivered in their own homes and when people were supported accessing the community. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people from abuse and were knowledgeable about the potential risks and how to report concerns.

People were placed at the heart of the service. Experienced staff met and assessed people`s needs before they started using the service. Staff were recruited specifically considering people`s needs and also their personalities to match with the people they supported. Staff were recruited through robust recruitment procedures.

There were good systems and processes in place to keep people safe. There were clear risk assessments for each identified risk to people`s health and well-being and clear guidance for staff about what actions to take in order to mitigate them. Staff knew how to recognise the potential signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe.

People`s medicines were safely administered by trained staff who had their competencies regularly checked. People were supported to maintain good health and had assistance to access health care services when needed.

People’s capacity to make decisions was regularly assessed and staff were following the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) principles. Best interest decisions were in place for people who lacked capacity to take certain decisions and these were taken following a best interest process.

Staff felt supported by their manager. They were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. Staff undertook training and development courses to increase their understanding of the needs of people using the service. Each person supported by the service had a small team of staff looking after their needs. The team had bespoke training and support to understand each person`s health condition and needs before they cared for the person.

People and relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. People and relatives confirmed that staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had a firm understanding of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control. People were supported at mealtimes to access food and drink of their choice.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the service by the use of regular checks and internal quality audits to drive improvements. Feedback was sought by the registered manager through surveys which were sent to people and their relatives, however some people told us the surveys had not always asked for their feedback on the quality of the care they received. People and relatives we spoke with were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues.