Everycare (East Surrey) Ltd

Everycare (East Surrey) is a service providing care to people’s in their own homes. 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 our inspection, the agency had 70 people with a care package, of which, 59 received personal care.

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

People said they felt safe with staff and staff were aware of their risks and how to keep them free from harm. People received the medicines they required and records in relation to medicines were robust.

People confirmed staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment when providing care and staff confirmed they had received infection control and handwashing training.

Care was provided by a sufficient number of staff and people told us they usually saw the same care workers. Staff were recruited through a robust recruitment process. People were asked to give their feedback on the service they received and any concerns they raised were addressed.

Staff told us they received supervision, spot checks and appraisals. They also told us they felt supported by management and staff meetings had continued throughout the pandemic.

Since our last inspection the registered manager had made improvements to the service with the introduction of medicines audits and more regular opportunity for staff to meet with their line manager on an individual basis. Further improvements were planned with the introduction of an electronic care management system.

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (report published 20 September 2019).

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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service in August 2019 when breaches of legal requirements were found relating to staffing and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the registered provider 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 and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Everycare (East Surrey) Ltd 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.

People’s experience of using this service:

There was a lack of robust quality monitoring of the service provided which meant some shortfalls had not been identified. These included a lack of robust medicines records and ensuring staff stayed the full time expected at a care call. Staff were not supported through supervision or meetings which meant the agency were not following their own in-house policy. People’s care records were not always contemporaneous.

Although we were told there were enough staff employed to meet the services care commitments we received feedback from people that staff timekeeping was erratic. Staff told us they did not have travelling time factored into their day which meant they could regularly run late.

People were cared for by staff who had been recruited through a recruitment process and who had undergone appropriate training for the role. Staff maintained appropriate standards of infection control in people’s homes and used the necessary personal protective equipment.

People were encouraged to give feedback about their care. People said staff were kind and caring and treated them with respect. 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 received the medicines they required.

Staff understood their roles in keeping people safe from abuse. Potential risks to people and staff had been assessed, although some people people’s care records required further detail.

Staff monitored people’s health and reported any concerns they had about people’s wellbeing. Where people had food provided to them by care staff they said they were satisfied with this aspect of their care. Staff learnt from accidents and incidents.

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

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. The report of this inspection was published on 15 February 2017.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence 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.

Everycare (East Surrey) delivers personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 152 people were receiving the service. The service predominantly supports older people and can support people with complex and specialist support needs.

This was the first time we have inspected this service. The service was registered with CQC in January 2015.

On the day of inspection we met the 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. On the day of the inspection visit, the provider supported this manager to explain how the service operated and was managed.

During this inspection we made one recommendation.

Despite people and relatives agreeing that the service was managed well there was a lack of robust quality assurance systems in place to help drive up standards and improve the service. This could have an impact on the support delivered to people. Some people raised concerns with us regarding inconsistent support over the weekend. People said that they did not know who was coming to support them and the quality of support was not as good as in the week. We have recommended that quality assurance systems are put in place to ensure support is consistent.

People told us they felt safe with the staff that came to their home. Staff were trained in safeguarding and understood the signs of abuse and their responsibilities to keep people safe. Recruitment practices were followed that helped ensure only suitable staff were employed at the service. Risks of harm to people were identified at the initial assessment of care and their care plans included the actions staff would take to minimise the risks.

People were supported in a timely manner and staff did not feel rushed. Staff were recruited safely.

Staff were trained in medicines management, to ensure they knew how to support people to take their medicines safely to keep accurate records.

Staff received the training and support they needed to meet people's needs effectively. Staff felt supported by management team and were encouraged to consider their own personal development.

The manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People made their own decisions about their care and support.

People were supported to eat meals of their choice and staff understood the importance of people having sufficient nutrition and hydration. Staff referred people to healthcare professionals for advice and support when their health needs changed.

Staff were caring. People told us staff were kind and respected their privacy, dignity and independence. Care staff were thoughtful and recognised and respected people's wishes and preferences.

People and relatives said that the service was responsive to their needs. The service assessed people’s needs so people received needed support.

People received person centred care from a service that had a flexible approach and was responsive to unforeseen circumstances. People knew how to complain and were confident any complaints would be listened to and action taken to resolve them.

The service had a positive and support culture. Staff knew and understood the organisational values which were reflected in the support we observed. Management understood the service being provided. Staff and management talked about the open door policy in place, which made the management team approachable.