Archived: Manorcourt Homecare

At the last inspection in September 2016 we found that medicines were not managed safely. This was a breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

You can read the report from this comprehensive inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Manorcourt Homecare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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

Not everyone using Manorcourt Homecare receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 24 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives knew the manager and were able to see them when required.

There were processes in place to protect people from avoidable harm and staff were aware of their responsibilities to report them. Risks to people were assessed and managed appropriately.

Staff had been recruited using a robust recruitment process. There was enough trained staff to support people with their needs. Staff had attended a variety of training to keep their skills up to date and were supported with regular supervision.

Systems were in place for the safe management of medicines and people were protected by the prevention and control of infection.

The provider had processes in place to learn from investigations if or when things went wrong.

People could make choices about their food and drink and were provided with support when required.

Staff would access additional health care professionals to ensure people received effective care or treatment if and when required.

Staff gained consent to care before supporting people; this was sought in line with legislation. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion. People were treated with dignity and respect, and had the privacy they required.

People’s needs had been assessed prior to them receiving care visits. Care and support plans were personalised and reflected people’s individual requirements. People and their relatives were involved in decisions regarding their care and support needs.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain.

The provider had a clear vision, and were open and transparent. Quality monitoring systems were in place and were effective and staff were involved in developing the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This inspection took place on 1, 5 and 9 September 2016, and it was announced.

Although the service previously had a registered manager, they have since left employment with the service but not cancelled their registration. A new manager has been appointed and will begin the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC.) A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The absence of a registered manager was taken into account when making the judgements in the report.

People’s medicines were not always managed safely and medication records were not comprehensive. Medicine audits were completed however they failed to identify concerns and did not sure action was taken to rectify errors.

People told us that they felt safe. Staff understood their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding people and they had received effective training. There were systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of possible harm and appropriate referrals had been made to the local authority.

Each person had personalised risk assessments in place that gave guidance to staff on how individual risks to people could be minimised.

The service had robust recruitment procedures in place and the provider had an active recruitment process to ensure that sufficient members of staff were available to meet the demands of the service.

People told us they were supported by staff who were knowledgeable and skilled. Staff were supported by way of spot checks and supervisions. Performance reviews had been completed for all staff and used to improve and give feedback on performance.

People’s consent was sought prior to care being received. People were supported to express their views and to be involved in making decisions regarding their care and support.

People’s needs in relation to nutrition, hydration and meal preparation were met. People had been supported to maintain good health and concerns had been raised appropriately with regards to people’s well-being.

Staff were caring and respectful. They provided care in a considerate manner and maintained people’s dignity.

People’s needs had been assessed and they had been involved in planning their care and deciding in which way their care was provided.

The provider had an effective process for handling complaints and concerns. These were recorded, investigated, responded to and included actions to prevent recurrence.

There was a new management structure at the service and people, their relatives and staff knew who to raise concerns to.

Feedback on the service provided was encouraged. Where inconsistencies in the quality assurance processes had been found, the provider had taken action to improve the systems and ensure they were implemented in a robust manner.

During this inspection we found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.