Archived: Eldercare

Updated 9 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 4, 5 and 8 February 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice as this is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to participate in the inspection. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people receiving care at the service.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, including statutory notifications. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the information we held, including complaints, safeguarding information and previous inspection reports. In addition to this we contacted the local authority contract monitoring team who provided us with any relevant information they held about the service.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people who used the service or their main carers. We spoke with five staff members, the registered manager and the service manager. We looked at the care records of five people who used the service and other associated documents such as policies and procedures, safety and quality audits and quality assurance surveys. We also looked at three staff personnel and training files, service agreements, staff rotas, minutes of staff meetings, complaints records and comments and compliments records.

Updated 9 March 2016

The inspection took place on the 4 and 5 February 2016 at the agency office and was completed by contacting people using the service and staff with telephone interviews on 9 February 2016. The first day was announced. This was to enable the management team to make themselves available to participate in the inspection.

Eldercare is a domiciliary care service. The agency's office is located in the centre of Rossendale in Lancashire. The service provides flexible personalised care and support for people who require additional support to live independently within the community. The agency provides support to people currently residing in the Nelson area of Lancashire. Additional services are offered such as domestic support and carer support. At the time of the inspection 12 adults were using the service for personal care and support.

In addition to this service Eldercare also provides a Nationwide emergency response service. This service responds to calls made via a pendant alarm. The emergency responders work in partnership with other care agencies to ensure the persons personal requirements are met appropriately. We noted at time of inspection no person was actively using the emergency response service solely for personal care.

The service was last inspected in July 2013 and was found compliant in all areas inspected.

At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

During this inspection we received positive feedback from the people who used the service and their family members. People expressed satisfaction with the service provided and spoke very highly of the staff that supported them. Comments included, “I am very very satisfied with the service. They are very good to me” and “The carers really know their job, this makes me feel safe”. Family member comments included, “I know my [relative] is safe in the care of the agency. They are great. They have never missed a visit and if they are running late they contact us to let us know”.

We noted the service had robust processes and procedures in place to maintain a safe environment for people using the service and staff members. The service had detailed and up to date health and safety checks for each person’s house which covered areas such as adequate lighting, security of windows and doors, electrical wiring and heating. These were reviewed every three months.

People using the service told us they felt safe. Visitors were also confident that their relatives were kept safe. We noted robust safeguarding procedures were in place and staff showed a good understanding around recognising the signs of abuse. Staff had also undertaken safeguarding training.

At the time of inspection we found the service had adequate staffing levels. Staff told us they had adequate time to undertake the caring role effectively. People told us visits were never missed and they did not feel rushed when the carers arrived. Care staff confirmed that they were never required to ‘squeeze’ visits in and felt adequate time slots were allocated.

We found the service had a thorough and robust recruitment system in place. Staff files we looked at contained all relevant documentation and appropriate checks on staff good character had been made.

The service had processes in place for the appropriate administration of medication. Staff were adequately trained in medication administration. People told us they received their medication when required and on time.

Each person using the service had detailed individual risk assessments based on their need. These risk assessments included, mobility, nutrition, health needs and communication.

We saw detailed care plans, which gave clear information about people's needs, wishes, feelings and health conditions. These were reviewed three monthly with involvement from the person and service manager. Changes to people’s needs and requirements were communicated well which meant staff were kept up to date with these changes.

We saw the service had detailed training programmes. This ensured care staff were equipped with the correct knowledge to support people effectively. All people spoken with were very positive about staff knowledge and skills and felt their needs were being met appropriately.

Staff spoken with were aware of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). These provided legal safeguards for people who may be unable to make their own decisions. The management team also demonstrated their knowledge about the process to follow should it be necessary to place any restrictions on a person who used the service in their best interests.

We had positive feedback from people using the service, relatives and staff about the management team. People told us they were happy to approach management with any concerns or questions.