JME Care Ltd - Community Care Services

Updated 24 November 2021

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with 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. 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 19 October 2021 and ended on 25 October 2021. We visited the office location on both days.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the service was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, head of care, care coordinator and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two professionals who regularly work with the service.

Updated 24 November 2021

About the service

JME Care Ltd – Community Care Services is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to older people and younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health needs, physical disabilities or sensory issues, living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 11 people were being supported with personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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.

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

People received a caring and effective service. People received person-centred support from staff who knew them well.

There were enough staff to provide a consistent, reliable service. Care plans covered all aspects of people's lives and their preferences. They received support to access social and leisure opportunities to ensure a personalised experience. Staff developed and implemented individualised risk assessments which mitigated risks to people’s safety and wellbeing. Medicines were safely administered and recorded accurately. Robust recruitment and selection procedures ensured suitable staff were employed. Staff completed training in infection prevention and control. The registered manager completed competency checks and regular spot checks with all staff regarding safe use of PPE and infection prevention and control procedures.

People received care from staff who were well trained and knowledgeable. Where it was part of people's care package, staff prepared meals and drinks to support them in maintaining a good diet.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were supported to reach their personal goals due to the person-centred approaches promoted by leadership, and staff having the right skills and attitudes to achieve this.

Access to an advocacy service was available and used when needed. Systems were in place for communicating with people, their relatives and staff to ensure they were fully involved.

Staff were responsive to people's individual needs and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People's privacy and dignity was respected, and people told us staff were friendly and respectful.

Staff were attentive to changes in people's health and wellbeing and worked well with healthcare professionals to ensure people's health needs were met. The provider was very proactive in working with other agencies and stakeholders, for the benefit of people using the service. People, their relatives and external professionals were very satisfied with the service.

Any complaints people raised were investigated and responded to. There was a clear emphasis on continual improvement. The provider had a quality assurance system, which included spot checks and reviewing all care and medicine records; this ensured any shortfalls were actioned and lessons learnt.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 April 2020 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of the provider’s registration.

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.