Elite Care 24/7

Updated 4 February 2020

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 undertaken by one inspector and an assistant inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with three members of care staff, the Compliance Officer and the Registered Manager/Provider. We reviewed a range of documents and records including the care records for four people and related medication records, three staff files and training records. We also looked at records that related to the management and quality assurance of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke with three people receiving care and one relative to gain their views on the service.

Updated 4 February 2020

Elite Care 24/7 provides personal care for people who live in their own homes The service is registered to provide support for older people and younger adults. At the time of the inspection 69 people were using the service.

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

Risk assessments did not always reflect the information given in care plans and some risk assessments were lacking guidance for staff on how to keep people safe when providing care, such as guidance for assisting people who use a catheter.

Quality assurance was not robust and did not always reflect patterns and trends within the service and so the provider did not have detailed oversight of how people’s needs were being met.

People felt they were safe and relatives raised no concerns over how staff cared for their loved one. Staff knew how to escalate issues and concerns and were aware of potential risks when providing support. Staff used correct equipment, such as gloves and aprons when assisting people. Accidents and incidents were managed appropriately.

People were involved in the development of care plans and daily support, although these were not always detailed. A complaints procedure was in place and people knew how to raise concerns.

Staff received an effective induction and were prepared for their role. Staff had received training and felt able to support people confidently. People felt that staff supported their individual needs and requirements. People received food and drinks as required and were supported to remain as healthy as possible. People were assisted 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.

People felt staff were caring towards them. People were given choices and were able to make their own decisions. Staff supported people to be independent and ensured that people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

People, relatives and staff thought the service was managed well. The registered manager was described as being available to people.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 20 February 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was brought forward due to concerns raised since the last inspection. The registered manager discussed safeguarding concerns with us and informed us that in order to manage the service more effectively one of the two locations registered had recently been closed down and that staff members who were implicated within the safeguarding concerns were no longer employed.

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.

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