Background to this inspection
Updated
14 December 2021
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.
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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 18 November 2021 and ended on 22 November 2021. We visited the office location on 18 November 2021.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since our previous inspection. The provider was 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 also spoke with the local authority to get their view of the service provided. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, the nominated individual, a director senior care staff and care staff. We spoke with six people who used the service and eight relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care 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.
Updated
14 December 2021
About the service
LJM Homecare Ltd is a domiciliary service which provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs in their own houses and flats. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 133 people with personal care. The majority of people received long term care packages. Other people received support to prevent them having to be admitted to hospital, or support enabling them to have an earlier discharge from hospital.
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 protected from abuse, they and their relatives told us safe care was provided. Most people received support from a regular staff team. Staff were trained in administering medicines safely. Competency checks had been completed to ensure staff were following safe medicine practices.
Staff had received training in infection control and demonstrated an understanding of what Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] should be used when supporting people. Relatives confirmed that staff wore PPE when entering their family member’s home.
People's needs were assessed, and staff supported people to meet their needs. Staff supported some people with their meals and drinks and to access healthcare support where this was needed.
People and their relatives were able to give feedback about their care in a variety of ways. Examples included, during care reviews, the spot checks of staff performance, telephone and video calls.
There was a positive and caring culture amongst staff at the service. Staff had good knowledge about the people they supported. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and found it rewarding. People's independence was promoted and respected.
Staff enabled people 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.
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 13 March 2018).
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.
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.