ELMS Health Solution

Updated 14 February 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector and an inspection manager.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave four days' notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit or telephone call from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

Inspection activity started on 30 January 2020 and ended on 3 February 2020. We visited the office location on 3 February 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications about various incidents the provider must tell us about. We sought feedback from the local safeguarding authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider sent us their provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person, four relatives of people who used the service and one health professional about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and five staff including office-based staff and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at one new staff recruitment file and records relating to training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including compliments, audits and feedback from health professionals were also reviewed.

Updated 14 February 2020

About the service

ELMS Health Solution is a domiciliary care agency providing support to seven people of which five were receiving personal care. This service is provided to older people, those living with dementia, learning disability or autism, physical disability or people with mental health needs.

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.

Staff used their knowledge about keeping people safe from harm people to good effect. There were proactive procedures and systems in place to help prevent incidents occurring. The provider recruited and deployed sufficient suitable staff in a safe way. There were effective systems and policies in place to promote good standards of infection prevention and control. Risks were identified and managed well. Medicines were administered and managed safely. One relative told us, "Staff use the [equipment] very carefully and safely to reposition my [family member]. I trust staff implicitly."

People's assessed needs were met by staff with appropriate skills and whose induction, supervision and training was kept up-to-date. The registered manager engaged well with others involved in people's care. People were supported to eat and drink enough. Staff used their knowledge about health conditions by seeking timely support from health professionals.

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.

Staff supported people with kindness, compassion and tenderness. Staff promoted people's independence and upheld their privacy and confidentiality. Advocacy support was provided for people. People had a say in developing their care, how it was provided and by whom.

People's care was person centred and based on areas of people's lives important to them. One relative said, "Staff are meticulous in everything they do, even down to the finer points [of care]. I could not manage a single day without them." Concerns were resolved before they became a complaint. Compliments were used to identify what worked well. People were supported with end of life care in a dignified and compassionate way.

The registered manager used effective audits and oversight of the service and made improvements. A team of staff who upheld the provider's values worked well together with others. People, relatives, health professionals and staff had a say in how the service was run. The provider was displaying their previous inspection rating correctly, and we had been told about incidents such as when people had passed away.

Rating at last inspection.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 21 February 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous inspection rating.

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

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.