Archived: Eternity Care LLP

Updated 8 February 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 25 January 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to ensure that staff would be available to assist us during the inspection. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Prior to this inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service, including data about safeguarding and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR before the inspection to check if there were any specific areas we needed to focus on.

During our inspection we had discussions with the registered manager, three members of staff, four people who used the service and two relatives. We looked at the care records for three people. We looked at three staff recruitment files, supervision records and training records. We looked at audits undertaken by the provider and a selection of policies and procedures.

This was the first inspection of this service under our new methodology.

Updated 8 February 2017

This inspection took place on the 25 January 2017 and was announced. We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure that staff would be available in the office, as this is our methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies.

Eternity Care is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 31 people.

A registered manager was 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 told us they felt safe with staff from Eternity Care. People stated that staff were caring and very good at what they do. Staff had a clear understanding of the different types of abuse and the procedures to be followed if they had witnessed or suspected abuse had taken place. Staff were provided with the contact details for the local authority safeguarding team. Robust recruitment processes were followed to help ensure that only suitable people were employed at the agency. There were enough staff to ensure that current people’s assessed needs could be met and all visits could be undertaken in a timely manner. It was clear that staff had a good understanding of how to attend to people’s needs.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored by the registered manager and information was cascaded to staff to help minimise the risk of a repeated event. If an emergency occurred at the office or there were adverse weather conditions, people’s care would not be interrupted as there were procedures in place. There was an on-call system for assistance outside of normal working hours and staff would be able to access records to ensure people’s assessed needs would continue to be met.

Staff had received training and supervisions that helped them to perform their duties. They also received spot checks from the management team whilst they were working with people. Some staff had received training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and dates for future training had been arranged. Staff had an understanding about the MCA and always sought people’s consent before undertaking any tasks. People told us that staff would not do anything without asking them first. All staff received induction training when they commenced working at the agency and new staff now undertake the Care Certificate training. Mandatory training and other training specific to the roles of staff was also provided and refresher dates for this training had been sought.

Person centred care plans were in place for people and included information about how people preferred their assessed needs to be attended to. Risks had been identified to the health and safety of people and clear guidance about how to minimise risk was clearly recorded. Medicines were managed in a safe way and recording of medicines was completed to show people had received the medicines they required.

People’s nutritional needs were met by staff who would cook meals for those who required this type of support. Healthcare professionals were involved in people’s care and staff liaised with them as and when required.

People were supported by staff to remain as independent as they were able. People were encouraged to do things they would normally do such as washing themselves and cooking their meals. People told us that staff showed kindness and compassion and their privacy and dignity were upheld and promoted by staff who attended to them.

A complaints procedure was available for any concerns and people had been provided with a copy of this document. Complaints received by the provider had been investigated and resolved within timescales set in the policy.

Staff informed that they felt supported by the registered manager and they had an open door policy and were approachable. Staff meetings took place and staff received regular contact from their line manager and the registered manager.

Quality assurance systems were in place that enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of service being delivered and the running of the agency. People, relatives and associated professionals were able to express their views to the registered manager about how the service was run. The summary of the last annual survey had been produced in February 2016. The findings of the survey were positive about the care provided and an action plan had been completed in relation to identified issues.