Updated 11 July 2019
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 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.
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. The registered manager of the service was also registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as the registered manager at Katharine House Hospice. The everyday running of Embrace Quality Care was delegated to the community service manager, who was present throughout our inspection visit.
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.
Inspection activity started on 21 June 2019 and ended on 24 June 2019. We visited the office location on 21 June 2019. The Expert by Experience conducted telephone interviews with people and their relatives on the 21 June 2019 to gain their experiences of the care provided.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications the provider had sent to us as required by law. 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. 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 two people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of care staff, the registered manager, community services manager and the Chief Executive.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medicine records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the monitoring and management of the service.
After the inspection
We received further information from the registered manager to help inform our judgements. This included updated recording forms following feedback we had provided.