Leaf Care Services

Updated 26 March 2019

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.

This inspection was a comprehensive inspection which took place on 11 and 14 January 2018. The service was given 48 hours’ notice because the service provides people with care in their own homes and we needed to be sure that people would be willing and available to speak with us. The inspection was completed by two inspectors.

Before the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed other information that we held about the service. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about events and incidents that occur including injuries to people receiving care and safeguarding matters. We reviewed the notifications the provider had sent us. We gained feedback from Norfolk County Council’s quality assurance team and an external professional.

During the inspection, we spoke with five people who used the services and two relatives. We met with the registered manager, provider and four members of staff. We reviewed six people’s care records in detail, including medication administration records. We looked at four staff recruitment records alongside staff induction, competency, supervision and training records. We saw other documentation in relation to how the provider monitored the quality of the service, such as their annual quality assurance survey of people using the service, audits, accident and incident logs, complaints and compliments records.

Updated 26 March 2019

Care service description

Leaf Care Service provides care to people in their own homes. The service can provide care for people of all ages and includes supporting people living with dementia and mental health difficulties; as well as physical, learning or sensory disabilities. Since their last inspection Leaf Care Services Ltd developed its services and has divided their home care service into two branches based in Great Yarmouth and Norwich. This inspection was related to the Norwich branch which covers Norwich, Broadland and North Norfolk areas. At the time of our inspection the Norwich office was providing care for 62 people, most of whom were older people.

Leaf has a registered manager. 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.’

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated …

People told us they felt safe receiving the care and support provided. Staff understood and knew the signs of potential abuse and knew what to do if they needed to raise a safeguarding concern. People were supported to minimise risks in their home and were assisted to take their medicines safely. The provider used safe recruitment practices and ensured they had adequate staffing levels. Where necessary the service demonstrated they were able to analyse incidents or mistakes and make appropriate improvements.

People said the care provided was effective, with their needs and preferred outcomes appropriately assessed and recorded. The service ensured staff were suitably inducted and received ongoing training appropriate to the care provided; staff competency in key skills was routinely checked. The provider work well with health and social care professionals and supported people to live healthier lives, have a nutritious diet and receive appropriate care and treatment as required. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us that they found the care staff to be caring and compassionate, willing to support whenever possible. Staff were skilled in promoting independence and maintaining people’s dignity.

People told us their care was personalised and responsive to their needs. Complaints were usually dealt with effectively and quickly. The provider had skills in providing end of life care but had no recent experience of providing this care.

The provider had a clear vision to provide high quality personalised care and had good governance systems in place to ensure people’s desired outcomes were being delivered. The provider worked well in partnership with health and social care professionals and agencies to build knowledge, develop and promote good practice. The management were open and approachable both to staff and people using the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.