Archived: Mercy Care Ltd

Mercy Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults. At the time of this inspection four people were using the service.

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

Risks to people were not always identified, assessed and did not always have detailed management plans to provide staff guidance on how to minimise or prevent risks. The systems and processes in place for managing and administering people's medicines was not always safe. Appropriate recruitment checks were not followed to ensure staff employed to work at the service were fit to work in social care. Staff were not always supported through induction, training, supervision and appraisals. Each person did not have an appropriate care plan which provided staff guidance of how their needs should be met. An effective quality assurance system was not in place to identify issues and drive improvement.

We have made recommendations about staffing, needs assessment and seeking and acting on feedback

Before people started using the service, their needs were assessed however, this information was not used to develop an appropriate care plan of how they should be supported.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and staff understood their responsibility to protect people from the risk of abuse or neglect. There were enough staff available to support people’s needs and staff followed appropriate infection prevention and control procedures to minimise the risk of infections.

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 and to access health care services where required

People were supported by staff that were kind and compassionate towards them. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support and their privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. Staff understood people’s diverse needs and supported them in a caring way. People’s communication needs had been assessed and met. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy; however, they told us they had nothing to complain about at this time. The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to deliver joined up care.

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 6 November 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to Person centred care, Safe care and treatment, Staffing, Fit and proper persons employed and good governance. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.