Empathy Care24 - Hertfordshire

Empathy Care24 is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes in the community.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection, 54 people were being supported with personal care.

The service worked in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

Staff were recruited appropriately. People received care from staff that had received relevant training and support to carry out their role effectively.

People received safe care. Risk assessments and care plans were reviewed regularly, and staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe from abuse or harm.

People and relatives described staff as ‘kind’ and ‘nice’ and people were treated well.

People’s care was personalised, and people were included in how they wanted their care needs met.

The provider learned lessons when things went wrong and sought to makes changes to improve the experience for people using the service.

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.

The outcomes for people with learning disabilities and/or autism using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

People using the service received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.

The provider had effective systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of the service. People knew how to raise a concern or complaint, and these were responded to in a timely manner.

The management team were approachable. Staff were able to express their views, concerns and ideas and felt listened to.

The registered manager had clear oversight of the service and knew their role and responsibilities to the people they provided care for.

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 05 April 2017).

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.

Empathy Care 24 provides personal care to people who live in their own homes in order for them to maintain their independence.

At the time of our inspection the provider confirmed they were providing personal care to 12 people.

The staff recruitment procedures were not always robust. The service had carried out pre-employment checks, but did not always follow this up with appropriate actions when information of concern was discovered. This meant that risks were not properly assessed and vulnerable people were being supported by staff who may not be suitable for the role .

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

Staff had a good understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse. People had risk assessments in place to enable them to be as independent as possible.

Staffing levels were adequate to meet people's current needs. Rotas showed that there were enough staff to cover the shifts required and at the correct staffing ratios.

All staff took part in induction training when starting employment and they felt this was sufficient to learn the role. On-going training was provided to ensure all staff had the skills, knowledge and support they needed to perform their roles.

People told us that their medicines were administered safely and on time. People mostly had family members to support them with medication, but when the service did support people, we saw that Medication administration records were used accurately by the staff.

Staff told us they were well supported by the registered manager, who they could approach at any time and they had regular one to one supervisions to discuss and feedback on their performance.

People's consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met.

People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this. Most people told us that they had family support them with meal preparation, but on occasion where they had asked staff to help, they had always been able to do so.

People were supported to access health appointments when necessary. People told us that they had family support them with access to health appointments, but could ask for support from staff if required. We saw that people’s health needs were recorded and monitored accurately within people’s files.

Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. People told us they had developed positive relationships with staff members and felt comfortable when receiving care.

People told us they were involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported. People felt listened to and regularly had the opportunity to review their care. Relatives of people were involved in the review process as required when people were not able to input themselves.

The service had a complaints procedure in place to ensure that people and their families were able to provide feedback about their care and to help the service make improvements where required. The people we spoke with knew how to use it.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were used effectively to drive future improvement and identify where action was needed