About the service Enfield Carers Centre is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The agency provides a respite service which allows relatives and carers to have a break and have some time for themselves. The agency worked with children and young adults with a learning disability and/or autism as well as older adults with dementia and/or physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Many of the people receiving support were children or young people with Autism. Many were non-verbal and had behaviours that could place them in danger if they were not adequately supervised. All the parents of such young people were confident that the care workers supporting their children knew how to keep their children safe when they were not present. People had comprehensive risk assessments that provided guidance to staff and were reviewed regularly. Staff had received medicines training and people received their medicines safely and on time. There were robust recruitment systems in place to ensure staff were safe to work with vulnerable people.
People and relatives told us they valued the support offered to them by the care staff and appreciated their professional and dedicated approach to their work. Care staff arrived at the time stipulated in the care plan and were involved in a meaningful way with the people they worked with. 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 were supported to eat and drink where this was an identified need.
Care staff were described as, “Tremendous”, “A life saver”, “Dedicated” and “Lovely”. Staff we spoke with were passionate about the care they provided and knew people well. People usually had the same care staff visiting them. People were treated with dignity and respect and recognised as individuals with their own likes and dislikes.
People had detailed care plans which reflected how they wanted to receive their care. Care plans were reviewed regularly. People and relatives were fully involved in all aspects of planning care. People were encouraged to take part in activities that were meaningful to them.
Everyone we spoke with thought the organisation was well-managed and that the office staff were very approachable and obliging. People were very happy with the care given and appreciated the short periods of time they were given for themselves whilst care workers looked after their loved ones. The service valued people and relatives’ feedback and there were numerous ways in which this was gathered.
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 treated as individuals with their own preferences. Care was person centred and tailored to achieve maximum wellbeing for people. Staff had received training in working with people with a learning disability and/or autism. The values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.