Embec Care Limited

Updated 16 July 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:

One inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. 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:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 short notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 24 April and ended on 27 June 2019. We visited the office location on 27 June 2019. We postponed our office visit until 27 June 2019 due to the office relocation.

What we did before the inspection:

We gathered feedback from five people and four people’s relatives about the service they received via the telephone. We reviewed information we held about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from commissioners who work to find appropriate care and support services for people and fund the care provided. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of the information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and one care worker. We reviewed three people's care records and medicine administration records (MAR) to ensure they were reflective of their needs. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service such as quality audits and people's feedback. We reviewed two staff files to check staff had been recruited safely.

Updated 16 July 2019

About the service

Embec Care Limited provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Support is provided to older people, younger people, people with mental health conditions, people living with dementia, people with sensory impairments, people with physical disabilities sand people with mental health problems. CQC regulates the personal care provided. At the time of our inspection visit 17 people were in receipt of

personal care.

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

People felt safe with their care workers and they remained living in their own homes in line with their wishes. Procedures were in place to protect people from harm and staff understood the risks associated with people's care to keep them safe. Staff were recruited safely, and enough staff were employed to ensure people received all their care calls, from familiar staff at the times agreed.

People and relatives had confidence in the ability of staff to deliver care effectively. People received personalised care from staff who knew them well. People were happy with the way staff supported them to take their medicines. People were supported to make and attend health appointments when needed.

Strong emphasis was placed upon continually developing the safety of the service and learn lessons if things went wrong. However, changes within the service had not been communicated to us as required. Effective systems continually monitored and evaluated the quality and safety of the service provided.

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; the policies and systems in the service supported

this practice.

People's needs had been assessed before they started using the service and people and those closest to them were involved in planning and agreeing to their care. Care plans contained detailed information to help staff provide personalised care.

People’s nutritional needs were met, and the management team and staff worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure people received effective care. People were encouraged to remain independent. People's care and support was provided in a dignified way by respectful staff.

Systems were in place to manage and respond to complaints. People and relatives spoke positively about how the service was run. Staff enjoyed their jobs and the registered manager was proud of the service provided.

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 15 October 2016).

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 reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.