Background to this inspection
Updated
1 December 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 carried out by one inspector and two experts 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.
At our previous inspection there was no registered manager in post. The service now 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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 5 October and ended on 27 October. We visited the office location on 8 October.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authorities and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We reviewed a range of records including 15 people’s care and medicine records and eight staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We also reviewed accidents and incidents, complaints and safeguarding records.
We spoke with 18 people who received care and 14 relatives. We also spoke with 12 members of staff including nine care workers, the finance director, the registered manager, and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We reviewed samples of electronic call monitoring (ECM) data for 10 people. We gathered feedback from four health and social care professionals who worked with the provider to plan care and support.
Updated
1 December 2020
About the service
Beverly Martins Ltd is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support to people living in their homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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 our inspection the provider was supporting 135 people in the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Croydon.
People’s experience of using this service
The provider had improved the way it assessed and mitigated risks to people’s safety and wellbeing. Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse or harm. People’s medicines were being managed safely by trained staff.
The provider had improved the care plans which now contained detailed information about people’s health and social care needs. People and their representatives were actively involved in the formation and review of their care plan. Staff ensured people’s nutrition and hydration needs were safely met. The provider ensured staff received training and ongoing support.
People told us they received care from familiar staff who understood them well and staff were kind and caring. We received comments such as, “I have lovely carers who come four times a day” and “Staff always so nice, very caring, very tidy and top-class.” People’s privacy and dignity was upheld. Staff helped maintain people’s independence wherever possible and care plans contained good information to ensure staff worked in a consistent way.
The provider had improved the quality assurance processes to ensure the service was run effectively and safely. We received positive comments from people receiving care about the management of the service. People told us, “I would recommend Beverly Martins, the staff are all good and well trained” and “Yes, they are very good people. I wouldn’t be here without them.” The provider worked with a range of health and social care professionals to achieve positive outcomes for people receiving care.
Recruitment processes did not fully meet current requirements We have made a recommendation about the recruitment policy.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 April 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. The overall rating for this service has changed from requires improvement to good.
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.