23 June 2021
During a routine inspection
Cera London is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to a range of adults living in their own homes with a broad range of physical, mental health and learning disability needs.
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 the inspection there were 81 people receiving a service that is regulated by CQC.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Most people and their relatives told us staff were kind and caring. However, issues of lateness, difficulties with contacting office staff, and the management of complaints were identified as issues for a significant number of people and their relatives.
The service had undergone significant changes in the last 18 months as the provider had acquired and integrated another local domiciliary care organisation. This meant a number of staff and people using the service were integrated into the new branch and management structure.
Over the past 18 months there had been significant changes in management of the service at a regional director and branch level. This had impacted significantly on the quality of care and management of the service. Although a new manager was in post and had recently acted quickly to address immediate concerns, we still found serious concerns with the management of the service. The new manager was expected to manage two domiciliary care branches despite the issues with quality we identified at this inspection.
Risk assessments did not always provide staff with suitable guidance to keep people safe. Audits of medicines had not always taken place in a timely manner and this impacted on actions to remedy errors. We were not confident that all medicines were safely managed.
Whilst the provider had systems in place to check the quality of care, we found remedial action had not always taken place. We were not confident that all complaints were followed up and resolved.
Care plans were person centred and the majority portrayed a holistic picture of people’s lives, their needs and their network of support.
Supervision, training and spot checks of staff took place.
Staff recruitment was safe, and appropriate checks were taken prior to staff starting work.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was last inspected under the name of Waterloo Care Services (provider Cera Care) and rated good. The report was published on 2 December 2019.
Since the last inspection the provider has taken ownership and integrated another existing domiciliary care service. This means some staff and people from that service have been integrated and receive care from the new service, now called Cera London.
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safeguarding allegations, and lack of consistency in the management of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
At this inspection we found breaches of the regulations in relation to the governance of the service and the safe care and treatment of people. We have also made a recommendation in relation to compliance with use of PPE.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.