Archived: Essential Care Group

Updated 16 March 2016

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.

The inspection took place on 21 January 2016. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector. Prior to our inspection, we looked at the information we held about the service and considered any information we had received from third parties or other agencies. We had received some information of concern prior to our inspection, which indicated the service may not be training staff appropriately in relation to specific care needs. We checked and found no evidence to support this allegation.

As part of our inspection we visited the registered office and looked at four care plans and associated records such as daily notes and medication administration records, three staff recruitment files, records relating to quality assurance and audits, policies and procedures and records of accidents and incidents. We were shown five staff records on an electronic database and we looked at the training matrix. We spoke with four people who used the service or their relatives, three care staff, the care and compliance officer, who was being trained to undertake manager duties and the registered manager.

Updated 16 March 2016

The inspection took place on 21 January 2016 and was announced a day prior to the inspection. This was to ensure there would be someone in the office on the day of the inspection. The service had previously been inspected in February 2014 and was found to be compliant with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulations at that time.

The service provides domiciliary care services to people in their own homes. The people who receive these services have a wide range of needs, some of which are complex. The service provides minimum call times of one hour. At the time of the inspection there were 25 people receiving support from the service.

The service had a registered manager in post 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.

We found people received good quality support. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and there were robust recruitment practices in place, which meant staff had been recruited safely. People felt safe and staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard people. Risks to people and staff had been assessed and were minimised where possible.

Staff told us they felt supported and we saw staff had received induction and training. The registered manager was familiar with best practice guidance and this helped people to receive support that was effective.

People and their relatives we spoke with told us staff were caring. The staff we spoke with were enthusiastic and were driven to provide good quality care. Staff told us how they respected people’s privacy and dignity and the people we spoke with confirmed this.

Care support plans were detailed and personalised, taking into account people’s choices and preferences. We found that, although the registered manager and staff made regular contact with people and their families, and feedback was sought and acted upon, formal reviews of people’s individual care were not regularly recorded.

All of the people, relatives and staff we asked told us they felt the service was well led. There was a culture of openness and transparency and the registered manager engaged well with people who used the service. Regular quality assurance checks and audits took place. The registered manager built relationships with other local businesses to try and improve services provided to people.