Elmar Home Care Limited

Updated 16 May 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of two adult social care inspectors and an assistant adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Elmar Home Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults, younger disabled adults and people living with dementia, mental health issues or a learning disability.

Two managers had recently been appointed who were going through the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. The provider had also recently registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager 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:

We gave the service short notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure the registered provider, manager and staff would be available.

Our inspection site visit activity started on 29 April 2019 and ended on 1 May 2019. We visited the office location on 30 April 2019 to see the manager and office staff and to review care records, policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we reviewed information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at information we held about the service including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders such as the local authority.

On 29 April 2019 we spoke with three people who use the service, one relative and six staff members on the telephone.

On 30 April 2019, we reviewed a range of documentation at the office location. This included four people's care records and medication records, three staff recruitment files, staff training records and other records relating to the running and audit of the service. We also spoke with the registered provider, the two managers, the compliance, development and finance manager, the HR and personnel manager, the care co-ordinator and a staff member.

On 1 May 2019 we spoke with a further six people and one relative on the telephone.

Updated 16 May 2019

About the service: Elmar Home Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency, providing services to older adults and people with physical disabilities and complex health needs. At the time of our inspection 61 people received personal care from the service.

Not everyone using the service receives the regulated service of personal care. CQC only inspects the personal care service provided to people, that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where personal care is provided to people, we also take account of any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service:

At our last inspection in May 2018, we rated the service Requires Improvement overall with two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulation. This was in relation to medicines management and good governance. Since this inspection, a new provider has recently taken over the service and a new management team put in place. At this inspection, we found sufficient improvements had been made and the service is no longer in breach of Regulations.

Although we saw some good practice in relation to medicines management, we have made a recommendation about further review of systems in line with good practice, to bring this to a consistently good level.

Safe recruitment procedures were in place. Sufficient staff were employed to make sure people’s care and support needs were met. People told us staff completed all required tasks, but they were not always informed if their visit was going to be late.

People's nutritional and healthcare needs were being met. The service liaised with healthcare professionals to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

Staff knew people well, including their likes, dislikes and care needs. People were generally complimentary about staff. They told us staff were caring, gave them choices about their daily lives and supported their independence as much as possible.

People’s needs and risks to their safety were assessed, and detailed plans of care drawn up. People told us they felt safe and staff had been trained to recognise and report suspected abuse. A complaints procedure was in place and any complaints were taken seriously and investigated appropriately.

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 supported this practice. People and/or their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care.

Staff were receiving appropriate training and updates. Staff told us the training was good and relevant to their role. Staff were supported by the management team and had the opportunity to discuss any concerns and their ongoing development needs.

Some systems were in place to monitor the quality of care provided and further areas were being developed. People were positive about the new care provider and management team and said they were approachable and supportive.

The service met the characteristics of Good in most areas; more information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: At our last inspection, published in May 2018, we rated the service Requires Improvement, with breaches in relation to medicines management and quality assurance.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at our last inspection. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the service is now rated good overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk