Anchusa Care

Anchusa Care provides personal care and support to older people living in their own homes both as live in care and domiciliary care visits. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. At the time of our inspection 140 people received personal care.

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

People were at the centre of the care provided to them. Staff and people had formed positive relationships that helped achieve positive outcomes for them. People were treated as individuals who mattered to staff. The providers ethos of care supported staff to ensure people and their relatives were looked after in a kind and compassionate manner and treated with dignity and respect. The service had a strong, visible person-centred culture and was exceptional at helping people to live their lives to the fullest.

People and relatives were at the centre of decision making about their care. People and their relatives valued the relationships formed with staff and said this had a huge positive impact on theirs and their relatives’ lives.

People told us that they felt safe with staff. Staff understood risks to people's care and what they needed to do to reduce the risks of injuries to people. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people and what they needed to do if they suspected abuse. Before staff started work checks were undertaken to ensure that they were suitable. There were sufficient numbers of staff employed at the service and systems were in place to ensure there were no missed calls to people. People's medicines were managed in a safe way by staff. Staff followed best practice with regards to infection control.

Staff received a detailed induction before starting work. All staff spoken with said they felt supported, and continuous training supported them to deliver high quality care. Staff competencies were reviewed regularly through spot checks and meetings with their line manager.

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.

People were supported in line with their dietary needs. Staff monitored people's health and immediately referred to the relevant health professionals. Regular reviews were undertaken and any changes to people's needs were actioned by staff.

The provider had a clear and accessible complaints procedure. Some further development was required around end of life care.

Systems were in place which monitored the quality of people's support. The systems were responsive and had led to changes being made during this inspection. The provider was proactive with regard to how people's support could be improved following feedback regarding the quality of care records, call monitoring and consent. Every person, relative and staff member told us the provider was approachable, supportive and that they felt the service was well managed.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was outstanding (report published 7 November 2017)

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection following a review of information we hold about the service.

The overall rating for the service has changed to Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Anchusa Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Anchusa Care is registered to provide personal care for adults with learning and physical disabilities and older people, including people living with dementia who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 felt safe and were protected from the risk of avoidable harm. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and there were suitable systems in place for recording, reporting and investigating incidents. Risks to people's safety had been assessed and staff used these to assist people to remain as independent as possible. There were sufficient safely recruited staff employed to meet the range of care and support needs of people who used the service. Medicines were administered, handled and recorded safely.

Staff had considerable knowledge about the needs of the people they cared for. They attended a variety of training to help keep their knowledge and skills up to date and were further supported with supervision by senior staff. People who used the service were actively encouraged to make their own decisions and staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People could make choices about their food and drink and were provided with support when required to prepare meals if this was an assessed part of their package of care. Prompt action was taken in response to illness or changes in people's physical and mental health and people were supported to access health care professionals when required.

People's experiences of care were overwhelmingly positive. They told us they were supported by kind and caring staff. People were at the centre of their care and we found clear evidence that their care and support was planned with them and not for them. There was a strong culture within the service of treating people with warmth, dignity and respect. The staff and the registered manager were always available and carefully listened to people and their representatives, offered them choices and always made them feel that they mattered.

People's needs were assessed prior to them being provided with care and support. People received a personalised service which met their individual needs. Care plans were detailed, person centred and updated on a regular basis, or as and when people's care needs changed. Changes in people's needs were quickly identified and their care packages amended accordingly. The service was flexible and any additional support was provided where necessary. People knew how to make a complaint and there was a complaints procedure in place which was accessible to all. Complaints had been responded to swiftly and robustly investigated in line with the provider’s complaints procedure.

People who used the service, their relatives, the staff team and an external social care professional gave us positive feedback about the way the service performed and all said this was due to the registered manager and their tireless passion for the service.

The registered manager demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of effective governance processes. There were robust quality monitoring systems and processes in place to make positive changes, drive future improvement and identify where any action needed to be taken.

There was an open culture and the registered manager’s clear vision and values were clearly understood and embraced by the whole staff team. All staff members we spoke with told us they were very proud to work for the service and people who used the service and their relatives said they would recommend the service to others.