Background to this inspection
Updated
9 August 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This was an announced comprehensive inspection that took place on 11 and 18 June 2018 and was completed by one inspector. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office to assist us with our inspection.
Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the previous report, information we held about the service and notifications we had been sent. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that providers must tell us about. This was used to inform our inspection judgements.
During the inspection visit we spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives. In addition, we also had discussions with the registered manager, the commercial manager and nominated person and three care and support staff.
We looked at the care records of three people who used the service. We also looked at other information relation to the management of the service. This included four staff recruitment records, training records, information about the service such as policies, procedures and arrangements for managing complaints care and how the quality of service was monitored.
Updated
9 August 2018
This inspection took place on 11 and 18 June 2018 and was announced.
At the last comprehensive inspection on 3 February 2016, the service was rated Good.
At this announced inspection on 11 and 18 June 2018, we found the service remained 'Good'.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses. It provides a service to older adults.
Elite Carers provides care and support to people living in the Leicester and Leicestershire area so they can continue to live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people using the service.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and relatives told us that they were supported by very kind, caring and compassionate staff that often went the extra mile to provide them with exceptional care. The staff and the management team were extremely passionate about providing people with support that was based on their individual needs, goals and aspirations. We saw that people were at the centre of their care and goals and achievements were celebrated. Each person was treated as an individual and as a result, their care was tailored to meet their exact needs.
The staff and the management team were always available and listened to people and their relatives, offered them choices and made them feel that they mattered. The staff were passionate about the person-centred approach of the service. Without exception, people spoke positively about their experience of the service and it was clear the culture within the service valued people as individuals.
People continued to receive safe care. Staff had been provided with safeguarding training to enable them to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and how to report them. There were risk management plans in place to protect and promote people’s safety. Staffing numbers were appropriate to keep people safe and the registered provider followed thorough recruitment procedures to ensure staff employed were suitable for their role.
People’s medicines were managed safely and in line with best practice guidelines. Systems were in place to ensure that people were protected by the prevention and control of infection. There were arrangements in place for the service to make sure that action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service
People’s needs and choices were assessed and their care provided in line with best practice that met their diverse needs. Staff received an induction process when they first commenced work at the service and received on-going training to ensure they were able to provide care based on current practice when supporting people.
People received enough to eat and drink and staff gave support when required. People were supported to use and access a wide variety of other services and social care professionals. The staff had a good knowledge of other services available to people and we saw these had been involved with supporting people using the service. People were supported to access health appointments when required, including opticians and doctors, to make sure they received continuing healthcare to meet their needs.
People were listened to, their views were acknowledged and acted upon and care and support was delivered in the way that people chose and preferred. Records showed that people and their relatives were involved in the care planning process. There was a complaints procedure in place to enable people to raise complaints about the service.
The management and leadership within the service had a clear structure and the management team were knowledgeable about people's needs and key issues and challenges within the service. Staff felt supported and valued. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the care provided and to ensure the values; aims and objectives of the service were met. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to report events that occurred within the service to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and external agencies.