Royal Mencap Society - Essex Domiciliary Care

Updated 30 April 2021

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an expert by experience. An Expert by Experience spoke with relatives over the telephone. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Royal Mencap, Churchfields provides care and support to people living in five ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the manager, assistant service manager and area manager. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. 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 received feedback from a further five staff and spoke with ten relatives

Updated 30 April 2021

Royal Mencap Society, Churchfields offers personal care and support to people living in rented homes with a tenancy agreement in place. At the time of our inspection they were supporting 21 people, 14 of whom were supported with personal care.

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

Staff knew who to report to if they felt a person was at risk of potential abuse. However, they felt the management of the service did not always listen to them and felt communication within the service between the management and them was poor. We have made a recommendation regarding this under the well led section of this report.

Staff generally felt there were enough staff working in the service. However, there had been changes in staffing hours and staff told us the reasons for this had not been fully explained to them even though, they had expressed their concerns to management. Relatives and people, we spoke to told us they felt there were enough staff to provide the support to them when they needed assistance.

Medication was administered by staff who had received training to do so and medicines were managed safely. Risk assessments were in place, which identified possible risks and how to manage them.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. Actions were taken and improvements were made when required. Relatives felt able to speak with the staff team at any time if they needed to know about their loved one. However, the general feedback from relatives was that the communication from the management of the service could be better

The last rating for this service was good (published 15 September 2017).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding and infection control processes. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Royal Mencap Churchfields 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.