Empowerment Healthcare

Updated 15 June 2022

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

This inspection was carried out by an inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

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 April 2022 and ended on 25 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 19 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office location and spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed records, including three people’s care plans and risk assessments, three staff files and records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, staff training information, audits and staff rotas.

Following our office visit we spoke with two people, two relatives and three staff to gain their feedback about their service.

Updated 15 June 2022

About the service

Empowerment Healthcare is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in north London. Eight people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

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

People told us the service was exceptionally well run. The provider’s vision and values placed people at the heart of the service. Staff focused on taking a holistic approach to empowering people and improving their well-being. We found multiple examples where staff and the registered manager had supported people to understand their rights and achieve better outcomes.

The provider engaged with people in ways which considered their equality characteristics and empowered them to voice their opinions. The registered manager understood the responsibilities of their role. They took a consistent approach to engaging with other service when seeking to make improvements to people’s lives. The provider had systems in place for monitoring the quality and safety of the service. They sought feedback from people on a regular basis to help identify potential areas for improvement.

People were protected from the risk of abuse. Risks to people had been assessed and staff understood how to support people safely. The provider followed safe recruitment practices and deployed enough staff to safely meet people’s needs. Staff supported people to manage their medicines safely, where this was part of their care plan. They followed safe infection control practices and knew to report any incidents or accidents which occurred. The registered manager confirmed they would review incident and accident information for any learning which they would share with staff to improve safely.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet where this was part of their care plan. They had access to a range of healthcare services when needed. The registered manager carried out an assessment of people’s needs when they started using the service to help inform the planning of their care. Staff were supported in their roles through regular training and supervision.

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. Staff sought people’s consent when offering them support. They involved them in decision about their care and encouraged their independence. People had care plans in place which described their individual needs and their preferences in the way they wished to be supported.

The provider had a complaints procedure in place which was shared with people when they started using the service. People knew how to complain and expressed confidence that any issues they raised would be addressed to their satisfaction. Staff treated people with dignity and respected their privacy. People told us they’d developed strong relationships with staff. They confirmed they were treated with care and spoke highly of the support they received which took their equality characteristics into account.

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 registered with CQC on 8 August 2020 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.