Audley Care Ltd - Audley Care St Elphins Park

Updated 9 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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:

Audley Care St Elphins Park is a domiciliary care service providing care for people who need care at home. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates the care provided by the provider and this is what we looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the CQC. 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be available.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from a number of sources. We also looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the CQC by the registered manager. We asked the provider to complete a provider information return. 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 also spoke with other professionals supporting people at the service, to gain further information about the service.

We spoke with seven people who used the service and some of their relatives. We spent time observing staff interacting with people. We spoke with eleven staff including care workers, the registered manager, the regional manager, the quality care supervisor and the deputy manager. We looked at documentation relating to three people who used the service, two staff files and information relating to the management of the service.

Updated 9 May 2019

About the service: Audley Care Ltd - Audley Care St Elphins Park are based at St Elphin's Retirement Village. They provide personal care and support to people living in their own homes at St Elphin's Retirement Village and in the local community.

Not everyone using the service receives the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspects the personal care service provided to people, that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where personal care is provided to people we also take account of any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people receiving personal care from the provider.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Risks associated with people’s care and support had been identified and managed appropriately. The provider had a safe recruitment system in place. Staff told us they had enough time to support people. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff received training and support to carry out their role effectively. People received appropriate healthcare and were supported to maintain a balanced diet. People’s needs and choices were identified and respected.

We spoke with people who used the service who were very complimentary about the care and support they received. People confirmed that their privacy and dignity was maintained.

Care records were person-centred and reflected people’s needs and preferences. People were involved in their plans of care. The provider had a complaints procedure which people were aware of. People told us they felt at ease to raise concerns and felt they would be appropriately addressed.

Staff we spoke with knew their role and responsibilities and felt supported by the registered manager. People had opportunities to voice their opinions about the service. The provider had systems in place to ensure the service maintained the quality they expected.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 19 October 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

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