We carried out a review of the data available to us about Ealing Homecare on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Ealing Homecare, you can give feedback on this 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.
Ealing Homecare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 31 people were using the service.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider could not be confident people had received their medicines safely and as prescribed. This was because records of medicines administration were not clear and there had been no monitoring to identify whether people had received their medicines.
The procedures for recruiting and training staff had not always been followed. There were limited records to show the assessment of staff during their induction. Staff had completed some online training, including live video training sessions. However, there were no records of physical in person training or assessment of staff skills in providing safe care, such as moving people safely.
Records were not always clear. Some records contained the wrong information, and some were not dated and did not include essential details about the person being cared for or staff.
The provider's systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service were not effectively operated. The provider had not always made the necessary checks to monitor the service. Where checks had been made there was not evidence to show these had led to improvements for people.
People using the service and their relatives told us they were happy with the care they received. They liked the care workers and felt their needs were being met.
Care was planned with people, and/or their representatives, to make sure their wishes, preferences and choices were identified and planned for. Staff were given clear information about each person's needs and how to support them.
The registered manager had a good knowledge of the individual people using the service. They had advocated on their behalf when people needed additional services and equipment. They had also liaised with other professionals to help make sure people had joined up care.
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 rating at the last inspection was requires improvement (published 18 December 2019). We did not identify breaches of any regulations at the last inspection. At this inspection, we found some improvements had been made in areas where we had previously identified concerns. However, further improvements were needed in some of these and other areas. We found the provider was breaching regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance, staffing and employment of fit and proper persons at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Ealing Homecare is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes. The majority of people receiving support had their care funded by the local authority. At the time of the inspection the service provided support for seven people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were quality assurance processes in place but on a few occasions, these had not been effective. The provider’s governance arrangements had not identified that they were not always following their own recruitment procedures when recruiting staff. Since the inspection they have addressed this. Care plans recorded people’s health needs, but they lacked information on what was important to people. At the time of our inspection the provider was not asking people about their end of life wishes.
People told us they felt safe. The provider had procedures in place to help protect people from abuse. The service was supporting three people with medicines administration and staff had received training. Measures were in place to prevent the risk of infection. Individual risks to people and the environment had been identified and risk assessments were in place to help minimise the risk of harm occurring.
People's needs were assessed prior to commencing with the service, this included needs relating to equality
and diversity. People told us they were involved in the planning of their care.
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.
At the time of our inspection the provider had received no complaints. However, the provider had systems for handling complaints and responding to incidents and accidents which they said they would follow if these occurred.
The provider and the registered manager were meeting people regularly an encouraged people and their relatives to share their views. The provider held staff meetings. Staff received supervision in line with the providers policy.
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 10 October 2018 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We inspect newly registered services within one year of them starting to provide a regulated activity.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk