Archived: Enablement Service Also known as Barnet House

Updated 13 April 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 team consisted of one inspector and one expert by experience. The expert by experience spoke with people who used the service and their relatives by telephone. 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:

• The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care and support service to younger adults and older adults some of whom might be living with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability and mental health needs.

• 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:

• We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in and people were available to speak with us.

• Inspection site visit activity started on 20 February and ended on 21 February 2019. We visited the office location to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. On 21 February 2019 we made telephone calls to people who used the service and their relatives.

What we did:

• Before the inspection took place, we looked at information we held about the service including registration information and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

• The provider sent us their Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

• We also checked for feedback we received from external professionals the service worked with.

• During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager, director of care and support, human resources business partner, care co-ordinator, administrator, two senior care staff and three care staff.

• We also spoke with 11 people who used the service and three relatives to gain their views on the support they received.

• We looked at a range of documents and written records including seven people's care records, five staff recruitment and training records and information relating to the auditing and monitoring of service provision.

• We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This was received and the information was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 13 April 2019

About the service:

• Enablement Service is a domiciliary care agency. The service is registered with the CQC to provide a service to younger adults and older adults some of whom might be living with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability and mental health needs.

• The service is designed for people who need support to regain their independence after a medical or social crisis.

• The service provides time limited support to people in their own home, for a period of six weeks initially.

• At the time of our inspection, there were 69 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

• Staff had not always received the training they required to enable them to meet the requirements of their role and to meet people’s needs.

We have made a recommendation about this.

• People received care from staff who were caring, kind and compassionate.

• People told us they were positive about the support they received from the service.

• People said they felt safe. Staff were aware of types and signs of abuse. They were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that these would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected.

• New staff completed an induction prior to working in the service.

• Safe recruitment procedures were followed to ensure staff were safe to work with people.

• People’s needs were assessed and their care was planned to maintain their safety, health and wellbeing.

• Risks were assessed and recorded to protect people. There were systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents.

• 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.

• There were policies in place which ensured people would be listened to and treated fairly if they complained. There was a process in place to enable the registered manager to respond to people’s concerns, investigate them and had taken action to address their concerns.

• The registered manager worked in partnership with health and care professionals.

• When required notifications had been completed to inform us of important events and incidents, this helped us to monitor the action the provider had taken.

• More information is in the detailed findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

• This is the first inspection of the service since their registration on 22 February 2018 with the Care Quality Commission.

Why we inspected:

• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

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