Background to this inspection
Updated
29 November 2019
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
Meritum Integrated Care LLP (Maidstone) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
Inspection activity started on 11 October 2019 and ended on 15 October 2019. We visited the registered office on 15 October 2019.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service five days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to gain people’s consent to being contacted for their feedback.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the agency since the last inspection with the CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the agency. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, the nominated individual, three care staff, a senior and a care co-ordinator.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care plans, risk assessments, daily care records and medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support and supervision. We also saw a variety of records relating to the management of the agency, including a sample of audits, quality assurance surveys, accidents and policies and procedures.
Updated
29 November 2019
About the service
Meritum Integrated Care LLP (Maidstone) is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care for older people, people who live with dementia, people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people who misuse drugs and alcohol. At the time of our inspection 60 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were positive in their feedback about the agency and said they would recommend them to others. Comments from people included, “They’re very good, I have two carers and they’re both very good. They’re kind and considerate and we have nice chats” and “They’re kind and caring; they talk to me as an individual and we have good banter.” A relative said, “We’re very happy with them. We like having the same carers each time; it’s important to have continuity when someone has dementia.”
People felt safe with the staff, and were confident staff knew them well, and, knew how to meet their needs. Potential risks posed to people and staff had been mitigated. Internal and external risks within people’s properties had been assessed. Action was taken to reduce the reoccurrence of accidents.
People received their medicines safely. Staff had been trained, had their competency assessed and followed individual care plans for medicines. People’s medicine records were audited by a member of the management team.
People were provided with consistency and continuity of care with the same staff team. Staff had been recruited safely with checks in place reduce the risk of unsafe staff working with people.
People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving a service from the agency. People were at the centre of their care and made the decisions about how they wanted their needs met. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated to ensure people continued to receive the care they wanted and needed.
People were supported to maintain their health including their nutrition and hydration. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s specific health needs.
People’s likes, dislikes and personal histories were recorded within their care plan. People’s privacy and dignity was protected whilst encouraging people to be as independent as they were able to.
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.
Staff received training, support and guidance to fulfil their role and meet people’s needs. Staff’s feedback was sought and acted on. Staff were kept informed about any changes within the organisation or people’s needs.
People’s, staff’s and relatives’ views and feedback were sought and acted on. There was an ethos of continuous improvement were any concerns were acted on to improve the service. Quality assurance questionnaires were sent out to gather further feedback alongside regular reviews.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update –
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 16 October 2018). There were four breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.