St Georges Home Care Ltd

Updated 21 May 2022

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Experts by Experience who spoke with people and relatives by telephone for feedback. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, nominated individual, field supervisor, team leaders and care assistants. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, management audits, complaints, staff rotas and meeting minutes, were reviewed.

Updated 21 May 2022

About the service

St Georges Home Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to people living with dementia, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. At the time of our visit 32 people living in north London were using 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

During this inspection we found the service had made improvements around the management of risks and quality assurance.

Whilst the service had improved the way they scheduled and monitored care visits, and staff had the right skills and qualifications, we identified some shortcomings around recruitment checks. We made a recommendation around safe recruitment practices.

Risks associated with people’s health and care were identified and assessed as and when needed, and staff were provided with clear guidance on how to minimise these risks. People told us they felt safe with the care and support they received. People received their medicines as prescribed. The service followed strict infection prevention and control measures to keep people safe.

People received care that was tailored to their individual needs and staff knew them well. Care plans were person-centred and documented how people wanted to receive their care. The service managed complaints effectively and relatives told us they felt confident in raising any concerns but were pleased with the care and support their loved ones received. Staff communicated with people in ways they understood.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively of the management and the support they received. There was an open and inclusive culture at the service. Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided. The service sought feedback from people, relatives, staff and professionals which they used to drive improvements. The team worked in partnership with healthcare services and other professionals to improve and maintain people's quality of life.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 23 October 2020) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider sought training and guidance on effective scheduling of care visits as well as communication with people and relatives. At this inspection we found improvements had been made around these issues.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 23 September 2020. Breaches of legal requirements around safe care and treatment and good governance were found. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Georges Home Care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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