Background to this inspection
Updated
22 January 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one 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 or specialist housing. The service can provide support to adults of all ages, including people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health problems, learning disabilities or those living with dementia.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 13 December 2019 and ended on 19 December 2019. We visited the office location on 16 and 17 December 2019.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is legally obliged to send us within required timescales. We received feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the service provided. We spoke with five members of staff to seek their views about working for the service. We also spoke with the registered manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and people’s medicines records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment processes, training and staff supervision. Records relating to the management of the service were reviewed. This included policies and procedures, quality assurance and health and safety documents.
Updated
22 January 2020
About the service
Epiphany in Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care, support and outreach services to people who live in their own home. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing support to 30 people.
Nine of these people were receiving support with personal care at the time of our inspection. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Systems and processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff understood their responsibilities and received regular training to ensure people were safe. Where risks had been identified, assessments were in place and action was taken to manage risks where possible. This included risks relating to falls and health conditions.
People usually received their medicines safely and as prescribed. There had been some errors in medicines administration. When errors had been identified, actions had been taken to improve practice. The registered manager planned to review the checks carried out to ensure medicines errors were identified more promptly.
Staff were safely recruited, and sufficient staff were in place to support people. Staff received induction, training and support, and were competent in carrying out their role.
Staff were motivated to deliver person-centred care which focused on developing or maintaining skills and independence and getting positive outcomes for people. The staff we spoke with were positive and caring and treated people with dignity and respect.
People and relatives were supported to express their views and preferences. Feedback about the service was positive. People, relatives and staff all gave positive feedback about the registered manager. They were described as responsive, flexible and committed to the people who received support from the service.
People’s needs and preferences were assessed before they received support from the service and these were regularly reviewed. Care plans gave guidance to staff about what people could do for themselves and how best to provide support.
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 were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their individual needs and preferences. People had access to routine and specialist healthcare services. Staff worked closely with other professionals to ensure people received effective care which met their needs.
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 15 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.