Ealing Homecare

Updated 30 September 2022

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 Health and Social Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by one inspector. An Expert by Experience supported us by making phone calls to people who used the service and their relatives. 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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service short notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 13 September 2022 and ended on 20 September 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 20 September 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we had about this provider which included the action plan they submitted following the last inspection.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and the relatives or representatives of 16 other people. We received feedback from four members of staff. We met the registered manager and consultants who worked with the provider to help monitor and improve quality.

We looked at the care records for five people who used the service and five staff files, which included information about training, recruitment and support. We looked at other records used by the provider for managing the service. These included checks and audits, meeting minutes and information about complaints, accidents and incidents.

Updated 30 September 2022

About the service

Ealing Homecare Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes.

Not everyone who used the service received 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 30 people were receiving support with personal care.

Ealing Homecare Limited is the only branch of this private limited company.

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

People were well treated and received personalised care which met their needs and reflected their preferences. They, and their relatives, were happy with the care and support they received. They liked the staff and felt their needs were met.

Staff were happy working at the service and felt supported. There were systems to help make sure only suitable staff were recruited, and that they received the training and information needed to provide good care.

People received their medicines in a safe way and as prescribed. There were assessments of risks for people and the staff planned care to help reduce the risk of harm.

People's needs were assessed and planned for. They were involved in making decisions about their care and their views were considered and respected.

There were suitable systems for managing the service. These included a range of policies and procedures, systems for dealing with complaints, safeguarding alerts and incidents. The registered manager was suitably qualified and experienced. They worked with external consultants to monitor and improve the quality of the service.

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 information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (Published 22 July 2021).

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 inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.