Optimum Care (GL) Limited

Optimum Care (GL) Limited is a domiciliary care agency and is based in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham. The service provides personal care to adults in their own homes. 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.

At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting five people with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service

Robust risk assessments had not been completed to ensure people could receive safe care at all times in relation to people’s health conditions and circumstances.

Staff had been trained in the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and were aware of the principles of the act. Consent had been sought from people to provide care and support. However, assessments to determine people’s capacity to make decisions had not been completed in full. We made a recommendation in this area.

Quality assurance systems were not in place to ensure risk assessments and capacity assessments were accurate to ensure people received safe high-quality care.

Medicines were being managed safely. Systems were in place to ensure staff attended care visits on time. Systems were in place for infection control and to learn lessons following incidents.

Staff felt supported and received regular supervisions. Staff had received training to carry out their role effectively. Care plans were in place to support people with meals according to their preferences and choices. Staff worked in partnership with professionals when people were not well.

Feedback had been sought from people and staff to make improvement to the service.

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 (published 11 November 2019). We identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to risk assessments and good governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

The service remains rated Requires Improvement.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to Safe, Effective and Well-Led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Optimum Care (GL) Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to need for risk assessment and good governance. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Optimum Care (GL) Limited is a domiciliary care agency and is based in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham. The service provides personal care to adults in their own homes. 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.

At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting two people with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service

Care plans contained some risk assessments to effectively manage risks and keep people safe. However, risk assessments had not been completed regarding people’s health conditions to ensure the safe delivery of care at all times.

Staff had not received training on Mental Capacity Act 2005 to ensure people’s consent can be sought legally. People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff were not aware on how to support people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

Robust quality assurance systems were not in place to ensure shortfalls were identified and prompt action was taken to ensure people received high quality care at all times.

People and relatives told us they were safe when supported by staff. Systems were in place to ensure staff attended care visits on time. Systems were in place for infection control and to learn lessons following incidents.

Assessments had been carried out prior to people receiving a service to determine if they could be supported effectively. Staff had received training to carry out their role effectively.

People received care from staff who were kind and compassionate. Staff treated people with dignity and respected their privacy. Staff had developed positive relationships with the people they supported. They understood people’s needs, preferences and what was important to them.

Care plans were person centred and included people’s support needs. Systems were in place to obtain feedback from people and relatives.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 May 2019 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service started to provide the regulated activity of personal care.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to need for risk assessment and good governance. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.