Elite Care Professionals - Main Office

Updated 22 August 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was an acting manager in post who was in the process of applying for CQC registration.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service a short period of 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager and nominated individual. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 22 August 2023

About the service

Elite Care Professionals s a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people being supported by the service. 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.

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

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.

Care plans were person cantered and reflected the needs of each person. Their assessments showed they had been involved in the process. Care plans described how people should be supported so that their privacy and dignity were upheld.

Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Staff were trained in medicines management and knew how to ensure that people received their medicines on time, and as prescribed. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed in order to minimise the risk of re occurrence.

There was a complaints procedure in place, which people's relatives were aware of, and quality assurance processes such as spot checks, were used to drive improvements. The provider was in the process of updating the electronic governance systems.

A new manager had recently been recruited to grow the business and provide structure to the current management systems. This enabled the provider to have more oversight of the business and define roles within the organisation maintaining good communication and ensuring everyone understood their roles and responsibilities.

Safe recruitment practices were followed, and appropriate checks completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. Staff received an induction and were supported through a programme of regular supervision, shadowing and training. Staff comments included, “I really enjoy working for Elite, the training is fantastic, and I feel very supported in my job, I have been here for five months and am very happy here”.

People were involved in deciding what support they needed. Close working partnerships with other agencies and health and social care professionals had been formed.

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 us on 16 August 2022, and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

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