Background to this inspection
Updated
14 February 2020
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 one inspector.
Service and service type
Eclipse HomeCare (Redditch & Terryspring Court Office) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own flats and specialist housing.
Eclipse HomeCare (Redditch & Terryspring Court Office) is also registered with CQC to provide a supported living service.
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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 23 January 2020 and ended on 28 January 2020. We visited the office location on 23 and 24 January 2020.
What we did before 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. However, the provider had already prepared a provider information return and provided us with a copy during the inspection. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration with us. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people using the service and five relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two registered managers, one of whom was also the nominated individual. We also spoke with the provider’s human resources director, plus the manager with responsibility for day to day care at Eclipse HomeCare (Redditch & Terryspring Court Office),
In addition, we spoke with two care team leaders and five care staff members. We also spoke with a visiting social worker and the landlord of the premises, to ask their views about the support provided to people.
We looked at seven people's care records, multiple medication records and information relating to the quality and management of the service. These included complaints and compliments, staff training records, minutes of staff meetings, minutes of manager’s meetings and systems for managing accidents or incidents.
Updated
14 February 2020
About the service
Eclipse HomeCare (Redditch & Terryspring Court Office) is a service providing personal care to people in their own homes. People supported include younger and older people who may live with dementia, or physical disabilities. Thirty-eight people were in receipt of care at the time of the inspection.
At the time of the inspection, all the people receiving care lived in one specialist housing location. 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. This included how care staff supported people to access the social activities provided by people's specialist housing landlord.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us staff discussed their safety needs with them and took action to help them to maintain their safety. Staff knew how to identify abuse and were positive senior staff would put plans in place to support people, if any concerns were identified.
There were sufficient staff to care for people and people could rely on staff providing the care agreed at the times people wanted. The provider had systems in place to review and take learning from any incidents.
People were supported to have their medicines by staff who had been trained to do this. The provider planned to review the checks they made to ensure the risk of people receiving medicinal creams which may not be effective was further reduced. People told us staff followed good practice to promote the reduction of infections.
People and relatives’ views were considered when people’s care needs were assessed. Staff were supported to provide good care to people through training and induction programmes. The training staff undertook reflected the needs of the people they cared for, and was complimented by, advice from other health and social care professionals, to meet people’s specific needs.
Where people needed assistance to see health and social care professionals staff supported them to do this, so they would enjoy the best health outcomes possible. People told us staff regularly offered to make them drinks and supported them to have enough to eat, based on their preferences.
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 had developed very positive relationships with the considerate and kind staff who cared for them. The bonds between people and staff meant people were confident to ask for additional help when they wanted it. Staff spoke warmly about the people they supported and knew people well.
People made their own decisions about their care and were listened to. Staff considered people’s rights to dignity, independence and privacy in the way they cared for them.
People decided what care they wanted, and relatives were encouraged to contribute to care plans and reviews, as their family members wished. Staff worked with people to adapt their planned care, as people’s needs changed. This helped to ensure people’s needs continued to be met.
People’s communication needs were assessed, and staff responded to these needs, to promote people’s inclusion and independence. Staff sensitively managed any concerns or complaints and learning was taken from these. People’s preferences at the end of their lives were acted on.
The provider was further developing their care plan processes by introducing electronic care planning and recording. Staff would be further supported to provide good care to people through the inclusion of additional information on how to support people to manage their risks, information on people’s previous history and how people would wish to be supported in the event of their sudden death.
People and their relatives were very positive about the service they received and were asked for their views on the care provided. Staff understood how they were expected to care for people and were motivated to provide good care, through incentives and recognition of good practice.
The provider and senior staff checked the quality and safety of the care provided and reflected on people’s care experiences. The development of the service was informed by work undertaken with other specialist organisations to drive through further improvements in people’s care.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 01 March 2019 and this is the first inspection.
The last rating for this service was Good, (published 01 June 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk