Errand Plus and Personal Services

Updated 31 October 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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

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

We gave the service 24 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 and to ascertain any health and safety information in relation to COVID-19.

Inspection activity started on 29 September 2020 when we visited the office location and ended on 15 October 2020 when we gave feedback.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals involved with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s nominated individual, eight staff and a member of staff from human resources. We received electronic feedback from one member of staff.

We also spoke with two people who used the service, two relatives and two professionals involved with the service.

We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

We reviewed documents and records that related to people's care and the management of the service. This included six people’s care plans, risk assessments and where relevant their medicine records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at a number of management records including policies and procedures and quality assurance documents.

Updated 31 October 2020

About the service

Errand Plus and Personal Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults in their own homes. The agency covers the geographical areas of Norwich and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Not everyone who used the service received the regulated activity of 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. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to seven people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Since our last inspection of Errand Plus and Personal Services on 11 and 26 September 2019, the service had made improvements, this was a work in progress, but we were encouraged by the actions taken and the service was no longer in breach of regulations. However, further consideration was needed around staff understanding of external safeguarding processes. We have made a recommendation about this.

At our previous inspection we found the risks to people were not managed well and the management of people’s medicines was not safe. At this inspection we found improvements had been made. People’s risks including those associated with their health conditions had been assessed and mitigated, and safe management of medicines systems implemented.

At our previous inspection we found recruitment systems were not robust and staff were not always supported effectively in their roles. At this inspection we found improvements had been made. Relevant pre-employment checks were carried out and systems to support staff had been implemented.

At our previous inspection we found systems for checking the quality and safety of the service was not in place putting people at risk of harm. At this inspection improvements had been made. Systems to monitor the quality and safety of service were in place. People who used the service and relatives were asked for their views and this was used to improve the service and make any necessary changes

Feedback from people who used the service and their relatives was positive. They described being involved in making decisions about their care and told us they felt safe and comfortable in the company of the staff who knew them well and were reliable and competent. They said they would recommend the service.

Staff followed safe infection control processes which protected people from the risks of infection and, specifically Covid-19.

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.

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 inadequate (report published 6 November 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. We met with the provider 15 January 2020 to discuss their action plan and progress to date.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since our last inspection in November 2019. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to continue to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Errand Plus and Personal Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.