Background to this inspection
Updated
16 August 2019
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
The inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 25 July 2019 and ended on 05 August 2019. We visited the office location on 25 July 2019.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and relatives of two further people about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager and her management team, the managing director and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
16 August 2019
About the service
European Nursing Agency, also known as ENA, provides 24-hour care by way of live-in care workers who support and provide personal care for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 61 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider had significantly improved their governance systems since the previous inspection in August 2018. The management team had introduced regular checks of key areas which meant that performance of the organisation was monitored to help ensure improvements were sustained and any identified shortfalls were effectively managed in a timely manner.
People received safe and effective support from a team of care workers who received appropriate training and support. People were protected from harm because the provider had a robust recruitment process and staff received training in how to recognise and report abuse. The service continuously recruited care workers so they would have enough suitable skilled and experienced staff available to support annual leave and routine breaks.
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. People told us they were provided with good day to day support with such areas as health needs, medicines management and meals.
The provider had recruited nurse care managers and care co-ordinators to help support and supervise the care delivered in people’s homes. People told us the care workers were kind, caring and compassionate. People’s care was arranged in response to their identified needs. This was kept under review and updated as and when needed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement. (last report published August 2018)
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
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.