Background to this inspection
Updated
16 November 2019
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 and specialist housing.
The service had two managers 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 the service is small, and we wanted to be sure there would be staff available to speak with us.
Inspection activity was carried out on 25 October 2019 when we visited the agencies office.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including one of the registered managers, the safeguarding lead and training director, an administration assistant, a senior support care worker, and a care support worker.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care record. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
16 November 2019
About the service
Everliving Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to two people at the time of the inspection.
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 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.
Staffs care, and support helped make people feel safe and reassured. Staff understood their duty to report any concerns they had about poor care and potential harm to people. Staff had information and prompts about how to monitor and reduce people’s individual risks. Staff made referrals to external specialist health professionals to seek advice on promoting and maintaining people’s well-being.
Staffing levels met the needs of the people using the service. Trained staff who had their competency to do so checked, safely managed people’s medicines. Staff completed an induction and training to make sure they were competent and confident to deliver safe and effective care and support to people. Staff were able to develop their skills and knowledge by completing further qualifications. Staff had supervisions and competency checks to monitor their skills and knowledge.
Staff supported people to maintain their independence. Staff promoted people’s food and drink intake, and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff knew the people they supported well. People had developed caring relationships with staff who understood their support needs and wishes.
People told us staff were kind. People’s personal information was kept confidential. People were involved in discussions and reviews of their care. Staff knew how to promote good infection control practices to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
Trained staff supported people when the person was at the end of their life. The registered manager told us they had already identified the need to document people’s end of life wishes as a guide for staff.
Complaints were investigated and resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction, where possible. Compliments about the care and support people had experienced had been received. Information was available in different formats such as a pictorial easy read format. This helped aid people’s understanding.
Staff felt supported by the registered manager and other staff colleagues. Audits were carried out to monitor the service and address any improvements required. The registered manager notified the CQC of incidents they were legally obliged to notify us of.
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 requires improvement (report published 10 November 2018) and there was a breach of regulation. 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.
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.