Excel Care (UK) Ltd

Updated 31 October 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

One inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Excel Care (UK) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their homes. CQC regulates the care provided by the agency. Excel Care (UK) Ltd also provides care and support to people living in a 'supported living' setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

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

This inspection was announced. We gave 24 hours' notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the right people were available to answer our questions.

Inspection activity started on 8 October 2019 and ended on 14 October 2019. One inspector visited the office on 8 and 14 October 2019 and visited the supported living service on the 14 October 2019. Phone calls to people and staff took place on 9 October 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used information we had received through our ongoing monitoring of the service and feedback we received from the local authority. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service to ask them about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, the director and four care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two 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 31 October 2019

About the service

Excel Care (UK) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides a range of services, including personal care, medication support, meal preparation and supports people to access the community and remain as independent as possible whilst living in their own home. The service was providing personal care for 10 people in total. The service also opened a new supported living service in June 2019, providing care and accommodation to three people with a mental health need.

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.

We visited the supported living service and found the three people living there did not require support with their personal care, therefore we did not inspect the supported living service. However, during our visit we identified potential fire hazards connected to the environment. Shortly after the inspection the Greater Manchester and Fire Rescue Service (GMFRS) visited the service and made several recommendations. One of these included the installation of fire doors on the kitchen and escape routes from the ground and first floor. The GMFRS were working with the service to ensure their recommendations were acted upon.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The registered manager had established a number of quality assurance systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service. There was evidence of improvement and learning from any actions identified.

People were safe and protected from abuse. People were supported by a small team of staff who they knew. The registered manager had introduced safer recruitment systems to ensure new staff were suitable to work in people's homes.

People received the support they needed to take their medicines. Provider oversight of people’s medicines had improved with the introduction of new auditing systems. Staff were trained in how to provide people's care in a safe way.

Staff treated people in a kind and caring way. People valued the service and the support staff provided. The staff treated people with respect and helped them to maintain their independence and dignity.

The registered manager had updated people's care plans, which we found were person-centred and outcome focussed. The new care plans provided staff with the information they needed to provide care and support in a way that met people's needs and preferences. There was evidence that care plans were reviewed regularly or as people's needs changed.

People knew how to make a complaint. There was an effective complaints process in place to deal with any complaints that might be raised in the future.

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 8 May 2019) and there were two breaches of regulations. We served a warning noticed for Regulation 17. 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 our current methodology.