Background to this inspection
Updated
22 May 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 which provides personal care to people living in their own homes. 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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We visited the office location on 07 February 2020. We carried out telephone calls to people and their relatives on 10 February 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as allegations of abuse. 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 five people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three staff, a care co-ordinator, the registered manager and the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, risk assessments and medicine records. We also looked at two staff files including their recruitment and training records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service including; quality assurance records and a variety of policies and procedures implemented by the provider.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
22 May 2020
About the service:
Esteemed Life Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to older people and younger adults in their own homes. Some of these people were 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. At the time of our inspection, 19 people were receiving personal care.
People's experience of using this service:
People told us they were safe. People were kept safe by staff who had been trained to meet people's needs. The registered manager and staff knew their responsibilities in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. Care plans contained detailed risk assessments and risk to people's health and wellbeing were addressed and
mitigated. Environmental risk assessments were also in place, which identified and reduced any
environmental risks to people and staff.
Robust recruitment processes continued to be in place. This prevented unsuitable staff from being employed. People told us staff were reliable and consistent. Staff were skilled in carrying out their role. The registered manager ensured staff were appropriately trained.
People told us they felt at ease with staff. People were cared for by staff who treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff were committed to providing person centred care and respected people's individual preferences.
People's needs were assessed prior to receiving a service including their protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010. 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The service had an effective system in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided. Staff told us there was an open culture where they were kept informed about any changes to their role. Staff and people told us the manager was approachable and listened to their ideas and suggestions.
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 09 August 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the previous rating.
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.