Anglian Care and Domestic Support Services Limited

Anglian Care and Domestic Support Services Limited, provides personal and domestic care and support in people’s own homes. At the time of the inspection 52 people were using the service.

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 45 people were receiving a regulated activity.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider had improved their governance systems since the previous inspection in August 2018. The management team completed regular checks and monitoring of the service. People’s risks to their health and welfare were re-assessed when their needs had changed, care plans were reviewed and revised appropriately to ensure improvements were sustained.

People received safe and effective support from staff who received appropriate training and support. The provider had a robust recruitment process and staff received training in how to recognise and report abuse.

People told us they received good support and care in areas such as health needs, medicines management and meals.

People were supported by staff to take their medicines safely where required. Staff promoted people’s choice and independence. People were involved with decision about their care and support.

People and relatives were happy with the care provided by Anglian Care staff. People told us the care staff were kind, caring and compassionate. People’s care was tailored around their identified needs. This was reviewed and updated when required. People had the opportunity to express their views and had developed caring relationships with staff.

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

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement. (last report published August 2018)

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

This was a planned 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.

This announced inspection was carried out between 25 and 29 June 2018. This is the first inspection of the service under its current registration. At the time of our inspection there were 58 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

The service was not consistently Well Led. This was because governance, quality assurance and audits were not as effective as they should have been. Records, risk assessments and guidance for staff were not up-to-date. The registered manager had not identified all incidents that needed to be reported to us. This put people at risk of receiving unsafe care or care that was inappropriate.

The service was not always safe. Risks to people were not always identified or managed well. Not all incidents were acted upon and this increased the potential for them to happen again.

People were valued and they had a say in how the service was run. The registered manager supported their staff team in various ways including observations and supervisions both in people’s homes and at the head office. Staff were supported in their roles in an open and honest manner. People, relatives and staff had a say in how the service was run. The registered manager worked with external stakeholders to help ensure people’s care was coordinated.

Staff followed the provider’s safeguarding procedures and were knowledgeable about recognising any signs of harm. The provider’s recruitment process was robust. Necessary checks were completed before new staff commenced their employment to ensure their suitability for the role. Sufficient staff with the right skills were deployed in a way that ensured people’s needs were met safely and appropriately. People were supported to receive their medicines safely and as prescribed by trained staff. Staff adhered to the provider's policies about maintaining good hygiene standards.

People received an effective service. The assessment of people’s needs helped the management to consider the different level of skill and competency required of staff to meet those needs. People benefited from care provided by staff who received regular training and support.

Staff supported people to access health care services and have sufficient quantities to eat and drink. People had maximum choice and control of their lives was promoted and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received a caring service. Staff knew people they cared for well and as a result they had developed a caring rapport with each person. People were supported to express their views and where they lacked capacity to make decisions for themselves they were supported to access advocacy services to speak on their behalf.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff were given the time they needed for people’s care and this was separate from when they undertook their training. This meant that people’s care was unaffected by staff’s training needs. Staff understood what good care was and supported people in an equal way no matter what their abilities or disabilities were.

People received a responsive service. People, and or their relatives, were involved in the care planning process and contributed to how their care was to be provided. Concerns were used to drive improvement and compliments were used to recognise what worked well. Staff used their skills to communicate with people effectively and assistive technology helped people to be more or totally independent. People could be assured that they would be able to have a dignified and pain free death.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of this report.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.