We carried out a review of the data available to us about Agincare UK Eastbourne on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Agincare UK Eastbourne, you can give feedback on this service.
Agincare UK Eastbourne is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to 52 people, some of whom were older people, had physical disabilities, and people living with dementia.
Not everyone who used the service received 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 had benefitted from improvements the service had made since the last inspection. Improvements in care planning gave staff the information they needed to support people safely and effectively. Systems were effective in ensuring that 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 had access to a robust complaints system that addressed any concerns they had.
Systems for monitoring quality and managing risks had improved. There were arrangements to support governance and to provide management oversight of the service. People told us they were happy with the care they received, and that staff helped them to feel safe.
People were supported by staff who had received appropriate training to meet their needs. Assessments of people's needs were thorough and supported people's diverse needs. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and to access the health care services they needed.
People were supported by staff who showed compassion and respect. People spoke highly of the care staff that supported them and said that they had developed good relationships with them. Staff knew people well and had the information they needed to provide good responsive care to them.
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 requires improvement (published 29 August 2019) and there were three 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
We carried out a comprehensive inspection of this service on 15 July 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Effective, Responsive and Well Led.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Effective, Responsive and Well Led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agincare UK Eastbourne 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.
Agincare UK Eastbourne is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 48 people some of whom were older people, had physical disabilities and people living with dementia.
Not everyone who used the service received 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 were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.
Complaints were not appropriately recorded. There was not an effective system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints.
Care plan records did not contain up to date, personalised information relevant to people’s needs. The quality assurance framework had not supported the identification of shortfalls in the recording of people’s needs. Risks to people’s wellbeing and safety, preferences and choices and communication needs were not effectively recorded. People’s needs and wishes at the end of their lives had not been discussed in detail and recorded.
People told us they felt safe. Staff had training in safeguarding and understood how to identify and report any concerns. When an accident or incident happened, action was taken to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. Staff understood risks to people’s wellbeing and how to support them. Plans were in place in the event of an emergency to ensure people’s needs were prioritised. People were supported to take prescribed medicines safely. The manager had recognised the need for improvement in recording of medicines and was working with staff to achieve this. People were protected from the spread of infection.
People told us that staff were caring. People and staff had developed positive relationships. Staff understood equality and diversity and supporting people individually. People told us they felt in control of their support. People were supported to remain independent and their privacy and their privacy and dignity were respected. People knew how to raise concerns about their support and told us they felt confident to do so.
There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited safely. Staff new to the service were supported with induction and training. Staff told us they felt supported with regular contact with the office, staff meetings and supervisions.
People’s needs were assessed before they received support from the service. Staff worked in partnership with health and social care professionals as needed to ensure people received the right support. People received support to eat and drink and access the community, as needed.
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 (published 3 August 2017). Since this rating was awarded the service has moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We have identified three breaches of regulation in relation to people’s consent, the management of complaints and the governance of the service at this inspection. The provider had failed to ensure that people were supported in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The provider had failed to ensure an effective and accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints. The provider had failed to ensure that systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety if the service were sufficiently robust.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.