Archived: JEPPs Care Limited

JEPPs Care ltd is a domiciliary care agency. The care agency provides personal care and support to people living within the community. At the time of the inspection, there were 11 people receiving support with personal care.

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

Routine medicines were managed safely. However, we had some concerns about ‘as needed’ medicines. There was insufficient guidance for staff, to understand when this medicine would be needed. If these ‘as needed’ medicines were given, then staff had not recorded the reason for this.

People felt safe using the service. Staff were confident in identifying any concerns about abuse, and felt assured that concerns would be acted upon by the management team. Any incidents had been responded to promptly to keep people safe.

Care staff had received training and had good knowledge on how to support people’s daily needs. Daily care task guidance was in place for staff. However, guidance was not always in place for people’s changeable health conditions, this puts people at risk of staff not responding appropriately.

There were enough staff to support people and support times were flexible according to what support people required each day. Staff were safely recruited. People told us that staff were clean and followed safe infection control procedures (for example, wearing gloves.)

People were supported to eat food of their choosing, and records were kept of people’s food and drink intake if required. Staff worked effectively with other professionals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. No capacity assessments had been completed at the service, however the policies and systems in the service supported this practice if required in future.

Staff were caring and provided personalised support which met people’s needs and preferences. People were treated with dignity and their privacy was respected. People received good quality support at the end of their lives.

The service had a clear governance system, which caused high quality and effective care. There was a registered manager in position, who met legal requirements by overseeing a high quality service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 were supported by staff who understood the risks they could face and knew how to keep them safe. New staff had been recruited to ensure that people were supported by a regular individual or group of staff who they knew. People who required support to take their medicines received assistance to do so when this was needed.

People were provided with the care and support they needed by personal assistants who were trained and supported to do so effectively. People’s care and support was provided once consent had been obtained in line with the relevant legislation.

People were cared for by staff who understood their health conditions and ensured they had sufficient to eat and drink.

People were supported by staff who demonstrated compassion and understanding. People were involved in planning their care and were treated with respect by personal assistants who visited them in their homes.

People’s plans of care did not contain all the information personal assistants needed to meet their needs. People were informed on how to express any issues or concerns they had so these could be investigated and acted upon.

People used a service which was flexible in accordance with their needs. The registered manager provided leadership that gained the respect of staff and motivated them as a team. There were systems to obtain people’s views on the service and if any improvements where needed.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 were supported by staff who understood the risks people could face and knew how to make people feel safe. People may not receive the support they require to maximise their independence due to risk assessments not being kept up to date.

People were currently receiving a consistent service due to the flexibility and goodwill of staff. However this had not always been the case and there were not sufficient staff employed to ensure this would not occur again in the future. New staff had not all completed the full recruitment process.

People were provided with the care and support they wanted by staff who were trained and supported to do so. People’s human rights to make decisions for themselves were respected and they provided consent to their care when needed.

People were supported to consume a sufficient amount of food and fluids that promoted their wellbeing. People received support from staff who understood their health needs.

People were treated with respect by staff who demonstrated compassion and understanding. People were involved in determining their care and support and were cared for in the way they wished to be.

People could not rely on their plan of care containing all the required information to ensure their care and support was delivered as needed. People were informed on how to express any issues of concerns they had so these could be investigated and acted upon.

People who used the service and personal assistants were able to express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that motivated personal assistants in their work. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed.