Home Care Essex

Updated 14 February 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Home Care Essex is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

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 19 January 2023 and ended on 20 January 2023. We visited the location’s office on 19 January.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person and 3 relatives. We spoke with the registered manager and 2 members of care staff. We reviewed a range of records including 3 people’s care records, 2 staff recruitment folder, audits, policies and training records.

Updated 14 February 2023

About the service

Home Care Essex is a domiciliary care agency who provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection 10 people were using the service. 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 and their relatives were very positive in the feedback they gave about the service. One relative said, “I cannot fault them (staff), they are very good and on the ball.” Another relative said, “We are getting the best treatment.”

Care planning was person-centred and delivered in a way which was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. Staff had received appropriate training. There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection and to learn lessons from accidents and incidents. Medicines when needed were dispensed by staff who had received training to do so.

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 when needed were supported with hydration and nutrition. The provider responded to complaints received in a timely manner. People were supported to make plans for the end of their life.

Systems had been put in place to monitor the service, provide oversight and drive positive outcomes for people.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 28 January 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Home Care Essex 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 program. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.