Background to this inspection
Updated
11 March 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.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager and they were in the process of applying for registration with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider will be 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 24 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. We also wanted time to obtain contact details of people who used the service and relatives, where appropriate.
Inspection activity started on 4 February 2020 and ended on 11 February 2020. We visited the office location on 4 February 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information we held about the service to plan the inspection. This included checking for any statutory notifications that the provider had sent to us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We asked the local Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our 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.
As part of the inspection we spoke with two people who used the service and three people’s relatives. This was to establish their views and feedback about the care and support they received.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with the manager the area manager and two support coordinators. We viewed a range of records. This included extracts from three people’s care records. We also looked at quality assurance records and three staff information files.
Following the inspection
Following the inspection, we spoke with two people who used the service and received written feedback from six people. We spoke with two staff and received testimonials from eight. We also spoke with two social care professionals and received written feedback from one other.
Updated
11 March 2020
About the service
EmpoweringU provided personal care and support to 16 people living in their own homes at the time of the inspection. Some people received 24-hour support for 7 days a week. These packages were supported by dedicated teams of support staff.
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 very satisfied with the service provided by the agency and received safe and effective care and support to meet their individual needs.
People were protected from harm by staff who were confident to recognise, and report abuse, and processes were in place to support staff to share concerns. Senior staff worked effectively and professionally with external professionals to ensure people were safeguarded.
People received their medicines safely and risks to people’s health and wellbeing were continually identified and reviewed. Risks were proactively managed.
People received consistent support from a staff team who were well trained to meet their individual needs and who provided a responsive service as people’s needs changed.
Staff were safely recruited to ensure they were appropriate, and a good match, to support people who used the service. Staff were well supported by managers and colleagues to deliver good care.
People’s needs were assessed and documented, and care plans were detailed so staff could deliver effective support based upon individual needs. People’s individual cultural, social and dietary needs were assessed and supported effectively and in line with their own preferences.
Staff worked with health and social care professionals proactively to ensure consistency and ensure people received appropriate and safe support.
Staff were caring and respectful, promoting people’s privacy, dignity and encouraging their independence.
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.
Staff sought people’s consent before supporting them and decisions about people’s care and treatment were made in line with law and guidance.
People knew how to raise a concern and always felt listened to. Information could be made available in different formats to make it accessible.
People, relatives and social care professionals felt the service was very well managed. People who used the service had regular contact with the manager and staff had regular opportunities to share their views about the service.
Systems and processes were in place to enable the provider, and the manager, to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
Rating at last inspection
This was the first inspection for this agency since registering with CQC in March 2019.
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.