Elmes Homecare

Updated 4 June 2021

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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors who visited the office location and a pharmacist specialist who supported the inspection remotely.

Service and service type

Elmes Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to adults and older people with varying needs living within 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

This inspection site visit took place on 10 May 2021 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to ensure that someone was present at the office.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must tell us about, such as any safeguarding alerts that had been raised. We spoke with the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams about the service.

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 met and spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and two care staff. Following the office visit we spoke with a further four members of staff and seven people and or their relatives by telephone to seek their feedback on the service they receive.

We reviewed a range of care records, including four people's care plans and records. We also looked at records relating to staffing, staff training and records used in managing the service, including policies and procedures, medicines management, safeguarding, accidents and incidents and monitoring records.

After the inspection

Following our inspection, we asked for records to be sent to us for review. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence found.

Updated 4 June 2021

About the service

Elmes Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care and support to adults and older people living in their own homes within the community. Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care; that 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 there were 23 people using the service that were in receipt of the regulated activity of personal care.

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

People told us they felt safe. People were safeguarded against the risk of abuse and harm. Risks to people's physical and mental health needs were assessed, monitored and reviewed to ensure their safety and well-being. People were supported to manage their medicines safely. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people’s care needs. Staff followed government guidance in relation to infection prevention and control. Staff had received training on Covid 19 and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Assessments of people’s care needs were carried out before they started using the service. Staff had received training and support relevant to people’s needs. Where required people received support to maintain a balanced diet. 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.

There were systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. Staff told us they received good support from the registered manager. The provider sought people’s feedback through satisfaction surveys and reviews to help improve the service. The registered manager and staff worked with health and social care professionals to plan and deliver an effective service.

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 report published (13 February 2020).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding incidents and the care and welfare of people using the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service remains ‘Good’. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Elmes Homecare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.