Archived: Able Carers (East Yorkshire & North Lincs)

Updated 27 May 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 14 April 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary community care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office to assist us with the inspection. One adult social care inspector undertook the inspection.

Before this inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered provider. The registered provider submitted a provider information return (PIR) prior to the inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We interviewed three care workers at the office and we spoke with the registered manager and a care supervisor. We spoke with four people receiving a service and we looked at records that related to people's individual care; this included the care planning documentation for four people. We also looked at four care workers' recruitment and training records, care worker rotas, records of audits, policies and procedures, records of meetings and other records associated with running a community care service.

We contacted the local authority for their feedback on the service. They told us they had not received any concerns regarding services provided by Able Carers from their care management teams, safeguarding adults’ team or people receiving a service.

Updated 27 May 2016

We undertook an announced comprehensive inspection on 14 April 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be at the agency office that could assist us with the inspection. This service was registered by Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 12 October 2015 and this was the first comprehensive inspection for this location.

Able Carers East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire is registered to provide personal care for people with a range of varying needs including dementia, learning disabilities, mental health, older people, physical disability, sensory impairment and younger people who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 12 people received a personal care service. The service provides domiciliary care and support services from the registered office location in the village of Gilberdyke in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and on the day of this inspection there was a registered manager registered with the CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ’registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

Care workers had undertaken training in safeguarding of vulnerable adults and they knew how to report and protect people from avoidable abuse and harm. The registered provider had a safeguarding policy in place and we saw they worked with the local safeguarding team to address any concerns.

People were kept safe as risks to them and others were assessed and managed by the service. We looked at people's care plans and we saw that these provided up to date information about their care and support needs. We saw documented risk assessments and support plans were in place and that these were regularly reviewed. People's independence was supported and respected using risk assessments to identify and work within the capacity of the individual to undertake daily activities in a safe way.

The registered provider had a robust recruitment process in place including sufficient checks to help ensure that the care workers recruited were considered suitable to work with vulnerable people.

We saw care workers underwent an induction programme followed by a supervised introduction to people. People told us they received consistent care from care workers who they knew. Where people required support with their medication this was provided appropriately. Risk assessments were completed and training provided to care workers to help them ensure that they followed the agency's policies and procedures on the administration of medication.

Care plans included protocols for medicines, which were prescribed for people with specific conditions. Care workers told us they felt well supported and we saw good communication and relationships between care workers, management, people who used the service and outside agencies such as the local authority and health workers.

Training for care workers and other staff was managed using an electronic training plan to ensure that they had the up to date skills they needed to carry out their duties effectively. Competencies were reviewed at least annually. We saw that training completed by staff included safeguarding, moving and handling, medicine management and health and safety. Care workers were also able to access additional training to meet people’s individual needs and we saw this included diabetes, dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Care workers had a basic understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 MCA and they understood the importance of people being supported to make decisions for themselves. We saw the registered provider had a policy in place. The registered manager told us care workers did not receive additional training in the Mental Health Act as they referred any concerns or changes in people's behaviour to the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). They told us further training was under review for care workers in mental health awareness.

People were supported to maintain good health. Care plans contained information on meal preparation and nutrition to help ensure people were not at risk of malnutrition. We saw any dietary requirements were noted in their care plans that included details of food likes, and information on supporting people with good nutrition and hydration. Where any concerns were noted with people’s health, we saw the registered provider liaised with other health professionals including the GP who could refer people to a dietician if required.

People told us that the service was responsive to their needs. We saw that care plans were person centred and focused on the individual needs of the person being supported. They included peoples' preferences, likes and dislikes. All of the people we spoke with confirmed that they had been involved in discussions regarding their care.

The registered provider had an effective compliment and complaints policy and procedure in place and people told us they were confident in raising concerns and providing compliments. Everybody told us they were confident that any concerns or complaints would be listened to and resolved.

The register provider worked effectively with external agencies and other health and social care professionals to provide consistent care to a high standard for people. This ensured that they were responsive to people's changing needs.

People and care workers we spoke with told us they thought highly of the management and told us they were happy with the way the service was managed. The registered manager understood how to meet the conditions of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).