Archived: Enlightenment Care Services

Updated 27 March 2018

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.

Inspection site visit activity started on 8 February 2018 and ended on 9 February 2018. It included telephone calls to six people who used the service and two relatives. In addition, we spoke with the registered provider who is also the registered manager, the compliance manager, human resources manager, the head of care, a team leader, and care staff.

We looked at the care records for five people who used the service. We also looked at other records relating to the management and running of the service. These included four staff recruitment files, induction and training records, supervisions and appraisals, the statement of purpose, quality assurance audits and complaints records.

We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection because we needed to ensure the registered manager would be available.

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send to us by law.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Updated 27 March 2018

Enlightenment Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults, people with mental health needs and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection, this service supported 25 people with a range of social care needs.

At the last inspection in January 2017, this service was rated overall as requires improvement. At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and the service was rated overall good.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

Systems and processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service required strengthening to ensure they were embedded and effective.

People told us they felt safe with the staff team who provided their care and support. Relatives we spoke with agreed that their relatives were safe with the staff team who supported them.

Training on the safeguarding of adults had been completed and the staff team were aware of their responsibilities for keeping people safe from avoidable harm. The registered manager and management team understood their responsibilities for keeping people safe and knew to refer any concerns on to the local authority and CQC.

People's support needs had been identified and risks associated with people's care had been assessed and monitored. There were arrangements in place to make sure action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service.

Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service. Adequate staffing levels were in place.

Staff induction training and on-going training was provided to ensure that staff had the skills, knowledge and support they needed to perform their roles. Staff were well supported by the senior management team and had regular one to one supervisions.

People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. The staff team had received training in infection control and understood their responsibilities around this.

The staff team were trained in medicines and were able to administer medicines if prescribed. The service worked with other organisations to ensure that people received coordinated and person-centred care and support.

Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and they gained people's consent before providing support.

People were involved in planning how their support would be provided and staff took time to understand people’s needs and preferences. Care documentation provided staff with appropriate guidance regarding the care and support people needed to maintain their independence. Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes.

People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive continuous improvement. People knew what to do if they had a concern, complaints were investigated, and lessons learnt to reduce future concerns.

The service notified the CQC of certain events and incidents, as required.