De Vere Care Partnership -Chelmsford

About the service

De Vere Care partnerships – Chelmsford is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting 136 people.

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

Right Support:

The provider operated robust systems to help ensure risks to people’s safety and welfare were assessed and mitigated. People’s medicines were managed safely, and their independence with this task was promoted where possible.

The provider operated a robust audit system to enable effective oversight of the service. Staff were recruited safely and there were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. There were no missed care calls and people knew who would be providing their care. Staff were appropriately inducted into the service and training was on-going throughout employment and as required.

Care plans included detailed information about the support people required. Where needed staff made appropriate referrals to other agencies and external professionals. 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.

Right Care:

Care was person-centred and respectful and promoted people's dignity and privacy. People and their relatives told us people were well cared for. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. People's care plans reflected their individual support needs.

Right Culture:

People received consistent care from a staff team who understood their individual needs. The provider’s management team led the service with an open and inclusive management style that helped to ensure people, their relatives and staff views were heard, listened to and acted upon.

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 11 August 2022).

At our last inspection we recommended the provider look at best practice guidance in relation to people’s protected characteristics and how to manage people’s choices about the gender of staff providing their care. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on this recommendation and had made improvements.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staff skills and experience. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. The overall rating for the service has remained Good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

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

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

De Vere Care Partnership – Chelmsford is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting nine people.

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

People received an assessment so care could be planned to meet their needs. People's protected characteristics such as their culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender and their preferred choice of gender of staff to provide their care were not integral to the assessment process.

We made a recommendation that the provider consider how to include these in their assessment process using good practice guidance.

People and their family members were very positive about their experience of using the service. There were enough staff to care for people and people were recruited safely. People were supported with their medicines as prescribed. Infection prevention and control measures were effective, including the safe management of COVID-19. Systems and processes worked to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Learning was shared following any incidents.

Risk assessments were undertaken to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Staff received training and supervision to support them in their role. Support was given with a range of personal and practical tasks, and people’s choices and wishes were respected. People told us they were supported to access health and other services as required, such as district nurses. Consent was considered as part of the care provided.

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.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. Staff were warm, kind, and considerate. People were involved in their care arrangements and were able to make decisions about how care was provided.

Care planning was personalised and regularly reviewed. Staff built up good relationships with people and their family members to help them maintain their independence and stay living at home. People told us they did not have cause to complain but knew how to do so if required. End of life care was provided if needed.

Systems and processes were in place to ensure oversight and governance of the service, including a range of regular audits. People told us they found the office and management team helpful and available. There was a positive and open culture. People’s feedback on care was sought through reviews and surveys.

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

This service was registered with us on 14 December 2021 and this is the first inspection

Why we inspected

The inspection was undertaken as the service had not been inspected since it was registered.

Follow up

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