Embrace Quality Care Limited Also known as Katharine House Hospice

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.

Updated 11 July 2019

About the service

Embrace Quality Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 16 people in their own homes at the time of the inspection. The service is a private limited company, wholly owned by Katharine House Hospice, Stafford, which is a registered charity.

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

People were supported by safely recruited staff, who had the skills and knowledge to provide effective support. There were enough staff available to provide consistent care and to meet people’s needs. Medicines were managed safely, and people were protected from the risk of infection.

Effective care planning and risk management was in place which guided staff to provide support that met people’s needs and in line with their preferences. People were supported with their nutritional needs and advice was sought from healthcare professionals which was followed to ensure people’s wellbeing was maintained.

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 by caring and compassionate staff who promoted choices in a way that people understood. This meant people had control and choice over their lives. Staff provided dignified care and respected people’s privacy.

People and relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Staff used care plans to ensure they provided support in line with people’s wishes. This ensured people received personalised care in line with their preferences and diverse needs.

Systems were in place to monitor the service, which ensured people’s risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service, where complaints were acted on and improvements made. People and staff could approach the management team who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to the way care was delivered.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (report published 22 December 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. The service continued to be rated Good in all domains.

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

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.