Empowered Lives Limited

Updated 29 April 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 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.

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

This inspection was unannounced. We returned for a second day and told the provider when we were coming.

Inspection activity started on 30 January 2020 and ended on 5 February 2020. We visited the office location on both days, and met with all four people using the service in their homes on 5 February.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the provider, including past inspection reports. We contacted people who commission services, the local authority safeguarding team and Healthwatch to ask if they had any relevant information they could share about the provider. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and six members of staff We reviewed a range of records. This included four 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 asked the provider to send us additional information which we used in making our judgements.

Updated 29 April 2020

About the service

Empowered Lives Ltd. is a domiciliary care service providing personal care support to people living in their own homes. 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.

At the time of our inspection there were four people receiving personal care.

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. However, some of the provider’s documentation relating to people’s consent was contradictory, and we have made a recommendation about reviewing how people’s consent to their care and treatment was obtained and recorded.

People felt safe using the service. There were enough, safely recruited staff to meet people’s needs, and staff had the training and support they needed. Risks associated with people’s care were assessed, and plans were in place to show how these risks were managed. The provider had acted to ensure people and staff were aware of what may constitute abuse and how to report any concerns. People had good support with their medicines.

People had good support with eating, drinking and their overall health. The provider ensured people got information in ways and languages they understood.

People told us they had a good relationship with staff, and our observations supported this. People’s rights were upheld, and the provider had a good approach to understanding people’s diverse needs and how to ensure these were met.

Care plans were person-centred and kept up to date, but there was a lack of information about people’s end of life wishes. We have made a recommendation about reviewing this. There were processes in place to manage formal complaints, however people told us they had not made any.

There were effective systems in place to review the quality of the service, and people and staff were consulted in these processes. People told us they had no concerns about their care and staff gave positive feedback about their experience of working for the provider. The provider worked with a number of other health, social care and voluntary organisations to provide care and support.

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 21 October 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.