Eskcare Limited

Updated 17 March 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

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 January 2023 and ended on 31 January 2023. We visited the location's office on 25 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 11 November 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority, professionals 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. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to 2 people who used the service and 6 relatives to gather feedback on the care and safety of the service.

We spoke to staff, including a senior care assistant and the registered manager who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records, multiple medication records and maintenance and safety certificates. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including 3 staff recruitment records and quality assurance procedures.

Updated 17 March 2023

About the service

Eskcare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service supports younger and older adults. This includes people who may be living with dementia, a physical disability or mental health needs. At the time of out inspection there were 29 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

The provider had a system of audits to review the safety and quality of the service. Some audits were not always effective as they had not identified some recording gaps such as medicines anomalies, recruitment records and communication needs. We have made a recommendation about this.

People had person-centred care plans in place which took into account their preferences. People told us staff were caring and cheerful. They also told us that they felt very safe and the staff knew them well.

People's feedback of the service was positive. They said the care they received helped improve their quality of life. One person told us, “The carers are absolutely excellent, and they definitely keep me safe.” A relative said, “They make sure she takes her medication safely as she takes lots of medication which the carers keep under control.”

Staff were trained and well supported in their roles by the registered manager. Best practice and good care were encouraged with systems in place to share this conduct across the team. Staff reward schemes were in place to promote high quality care.

Risks to people and staff had been assessed with appropriate measures in place to help protect people. People were supported with their medication and staff were trained in this. The registered manager had processes to monitor the safety of people and staff.

People told us staff always maintained their dignity and privacy and they were always respectful when providing care.

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.

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 3 May 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Recommendations

We made a recommendation around the provider’s monitoring of records. The provider took action to amend practices when this was highlighted on inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.