Archived: Mercie Grace Care

Mercie Grace Care is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection, 45 people were using the service .

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

Medicine Administration Records (MAR) were not always fully completed, and body maps did not always show where certain medicines were applied.

Risks to people’s safety were not always assessed and details around the care they required had not always been documented.

Care plans contained some information about people’s individual needs, preferences and routines, but more detail was required.

The provider did not always notify CQC of events they were required to by law.

Audits taking place in the service were inconsistent, and did not always identify the lack of information being recorded by staff, or prompt appropriate action.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. Appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out

People received safe care and were protected against avoidable harm, abuse, neglect and discrimination.

People told us they were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff encouraged people to maintain their independence and do as much for themselves as they were able to.

The registered manager and provider understood their responsibilities and worked in an open and transparent way.

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 22 May 2019)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safety of people using the service, staff recruitment procedures, and oversight. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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.

Regent Road is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of our inspection nine people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

Recruitment checks were in place to ensure staff were suitable to work at the service. However, records were not always in place to demonstrate the appropriate checks had been completed. Following the inspection, the registered manager sent us copies of employment checks that were not able to find on the day of the inspection.

People received safe care and were protected against avoidable harm, neglect and discrimination. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and strategies were put in place to reduce the risks. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to people to meet their needs.

Where the provider took on the responsibility, people's medicines were safely managed. Systems were in place to control and prevent the spread of infection.

People’s needs, and choices were assessed before they went to live at the service. Staff received an induction and ongoing training that enabled them to have the skills and knowledge to provide effective care.

People were supported to maintain good nutrition and hydration. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and access healthcare services when required.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

Staff treated people with kindness, compassion and respect. People were supported to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their care.

People and their relatives were involved in the care planning and reviews of their care. The provider had a complaints procedure which was accessible to people using the service. This did not contain details of the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) so complainants could escalate their concerns if they were dissatisfied with the outcome of any investigation by the provider. Following our inspection, the registered manager sent us an updated copy of the complaints procedure with this information included.

The service had good governance systems in place to ensure all aspects of the service delivery were continuously assessed and monitored. The service worked in partnership with outside agencies.

Rating at last inspection:

This is a first comprehensive inspection therefore the service had no previous rating. At this inspection we found the service met the characteristics of a “Good” rating in all areas. More information is available in the full report.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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