Background to this inspection
Updated
16 April 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 completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, flats and specialist housing.
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.
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 4 March 2020 and ended on 6 March 2020. We visited the office location on 4 March 2020.
What we did before the inspection
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 spoke with two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff, the provider and the registered manager. We reviewed three people’s care files and two staff recruitment files. We also looked at the service’s quality assurance systems, the arrangements for managing medication, staff training records and complaint and compliment records.
Updated
16 April 2020
About the service
E&K Care Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to four people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. An additional person was using the service but was not receiving personal care. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were safe and had no concerns about their safety. Suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff understood how to raise concerns and knew what to do to safeguard people. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were assessed, recorded and followed by staff. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure people received their medication as they should. Enough numbers of staff were available to support people safely. Staff recruitment and selection practices and procedures were robust. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Findings from this inspection showed lessons had been learned and improvements made since August 2019.
Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure staff were trained and newly appointed staff received an induction. Staff felt valued and supported by the provider and registered manager. People were supported with their dietary requirement needs. The service ensured they worked collaboratively with others and people were supported to access healthcare services as needed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
People told us they were treated with care, kindness, respect and dignity. People and their relatives were consistently encouraging about staffs caring attitude, confirming there were positive interactions with staff. People’s care and support needs were clearly documented, and staff had a good understanding and knowledge of these and the care to be delivered.
People told us the service was well managed. Quality assurance arrangements enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of the service provided and staff performance.
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was Inadequate (published September 2019).
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.
This service has been in Special Measures since September 2019. During this inspection the provider demonstrated improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service to ensure good quality is provided to people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk