Archived: Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge)

Updated 28 January 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 announced inspection took place on 20 and 27 October 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ advance notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to ensure the manager was available. Two inspectors and three experts by experience undertook the inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The experts by experience supported the inspection by telephoning people and their relatives to talk with them about their experiences of the care and support provided.

Prior to the inspection, we checked the information we held about the service. This included notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that had occurred in the last 12 months. We contacted staff at Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham local authorities’ safeguarding teams and commissioners. We used this to plan the inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with 52 people who used the service and eight relatives and carers. We spoke with 22 members of staff including care workers, team leaders and care co-ordinators. We also spoke with the manager, regional operations manager and various office staff.

We reviewed 34 people’s care records and 15 medicines administration records. We looked at 15 records relating to staff including training, supervision and duty rotas. We also looked at records of complaints and safeguarding reports. We reviewed feedback the service had received from people and their relatives and monitoring reports on the quality of the service.

Updated 28 January 2016

This announced inspection took place on 20 and 27 October 2015. Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge) provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham. People’s care from the service was commissioned by local authority staff who had specified the amount and type of support and care people should receive.

Since our previous inspection of 26 and 27 March 2015, the provider and management of the service had changed. The service was rebranded from Care UK Limited (London Bridge) to Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge) in June 2015. A contract with Care UK Limited (London Bridge) was terminated by one local authority after our 26 and 27 March 2015 inspection due to concerns on the reliability of support provided to people using the service. An older people’s extra care housing care scheme which we found to be providing unsafe and inappropriate care and support at the previous inspection was no longer part of the service. The number of people supported by the service had reduced to 750 from 1221 at the time of the last inspection.

At our inspection on 26 and 27 March 2015 of Care UK Limited (London Bridge) we found the service in breach of three regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014 in relation to care and welfare, staff support and quality monitoring. We had received an improvement plan after that inspection. At this inspection of 20 and 27 October 2015 of Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge), we followed up on the improvement plan and found that action had been taken to address the breaches.

The provider notified us the registered manager had left the service in October 2015. A services contracts manager of Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge) was appointed to manage the office. A regional operations manager who is also a registered manager of another service with the same provider will oversee the operations Mears Homecare Limited (London Bridge) until a registered manager is appointed. The service was being managed this way at the time of this inspection. 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.

At this inspection of 20 and 27 October 2015 we found five people had not always received the support and care they required through missed visits. People found it hard to contact office staff to discuss concerns about their support and care.

People felt they were not always treated with kindness and respect. Some people were not happy with the attitude of staff and lack of good communication with the office.

People were supported to receive their medicines safely as prescribed. Staff carried out medicines risk assessments and put in place plans to support people safely.

Staff understood how to protect people from the risks of abuse and neglect. The provider had dealt with safeguarding concerns appropriately. The provider had used safe staff recruitment procedures.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and supported people to make their own decisions. People were happy when they received care and support from regular members of staff.

Some people were supported with their meal preparation, eating and drinking as part of their care and support. Staff supported people in line with their choices and preferences.

People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint and who to report to. People had made complaints about the service and the manner they were supported. The manager had addressed the complaints in line with the service’s procedures.

People’s needs were assessed and individualised support plans put in place. Staff held regular reviews and updated people’s care plans to reflect their changing needs.

Staff had received sufficient training to undertake their role. Staff received support from an out of hours on-call manager. The provider had implemented a tracker system to monitor staff visits and the quality of care and support provided to people.

The provider sent timely notifications to CQC on safeguarding concerns and serious incidents. Accidents and incidents were monitored and dealt with effectively. Checks were carried out to monitor the support and care offered to people and used to develop the service. People were asked for their views about the support they received and their feedback used to improve the service.