Archived: Easby Healthcare

Easby Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to older people, people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, dementia, physical disability or sensory impairment. On the day of our inspection, there were 15 people using the service.

Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People continued to receive a good service. People had good relationships with the staff and were complimentary of the care and support they received.

People's risks were safely managed. Systems were in place to manage issues which might affect the safe delivery of care such as adverse weather conditions. People were safely supported with handling medicines. Staff were recruited safely, well trained, and people had consistent staff providing their care.

Staff were trained, skilled and well supported by the provider. People had good relationships with the staff who protected their rights to lead a normal life. 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

Robust systems were in place to gain the views of people using the service. Feedback from people was analysed and used to inform the review and development of the service. People were respected, staff championed their privacy and dignity and encouraged their independence in all aspects of life.

Staff were motivated to provide person-centred care based on people's choices and preferences. They were dedicated and praised for this by health and social care professionals.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 18 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

Easby Healthcare is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our visit the service was providing support to 25 people.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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 they felt that care was delivered safely. A specific team of staff was in place to regularly provide support on each contract. This meant that people knew the staff who were supporting them and the staff had the knowledge and training to meet the specific needs of each person. If there were any problems highlighted with staff providing care to an individual, for example due to personality clash, then rotas would be altered to accommodate the necessary changes.

There were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Individual risk assessments were in place and covered key risks specific to the person. These forms were very detailed and updated to reflect any changes. A system of regular reviews was being devised at the time of our visit.

The service had an up to date safeguarding policy and whistle blowing procedure. Staff were aware of the action they should take if they suspected abuse was taking place.

We found that safe recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been undertaken prior to staff starting work.

Staff were providing support to some people with their medicines. Where this was the case we saw appropriate systems were in place to ensure medicines had been correctly administered, audited and reviewed.

Staff received appropriate training and had the skills and knowledge to provide support to the people they cared for, this included specialist training specific to the needs of the people using this service. New staff underwent induction training which included classroom training and work shadowing a more experienced colleague.

Staff had a working knowledge of the principles of consent and the Mental Capacity Act and understood how this applied to supporting people in their own homes.

Staff had received regular supervision and annual appraisals to monitor their performance. Although these meetings had not been occurring as frequently in recent months due to staff turnover we saw they had begun to take place again and staff told us they felt appropriately supported.

Staff provided support at mealtimes as and when necessary and appropriate records were kept to ensure people enjoyed a suitable, healthy diet and maintained a good level of nutrition and hydration.

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they provided care to, promoted independence and were mindful of respecting people’s privacy and dignity.

People and their relatives we spoke to felt that the staff delivered a very good standard of care.

Staff were happy in their job and had a positive attitude about the care provided by the service.

Care plans contained a high level of detail including people’s life history, individual needs and preferences which meant that they received support tailored to their personal needs. People and their relatives were involved in care planning.

The service had an up to date complaints policy in place and a clear procedure for following these up.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. The management team audited paperwork and conducted regular spot checks on staff. We saw evidence of new systems being developed to improve the review and checking of records.

Staff felt supported by management and colleagues and felt that they were able to voice their opinions and be listened to. Staff meetings had been affected by the turnover of staff during the summer but more regular meetings were planned going forward and the management team were in regular contact with staff.

People and their relatives told us they felt comfortable contacting the service with any issues and felt they received a good level of communication from the service. Quality assurance of the service was done via twice yearly satisfaction surveys. This meant that people were given opportunity to provide regular feedback on the service and the management team took action if any concerns were highlighted.