Esteem Care Manchester Ltd

Updated 23 August 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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:

Able Care and Support Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service was also providing care to a small number of people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care [and support] service.

The agency’s office is in East Manchester and supports people across Manchester, Tameside and Glossop.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection:

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

What we did before 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We carried out telephone interviews with people using the service on 9 May 2019. As some people who use the service did not rely on verbal communication, we spoke with one person receiving the service and six people’s family carers. To make sure we properly reflected the views of people who used the service we reviewed people’s individual feedback, provided as part of a recent customer survey and have included comments that were typical of people’s views in this report.

We carried out and inspection visit to the office location on 17 May to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We looked at three people’s care records. We checked records relating to the management of the service and spoke with one member of staff and the registered manager.

After the inspection

We carried out telephone interviews with five more staff members to ask about their experience of working for the service.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with two professionals who regularly visited the service.

Updated 23 August 2019

About the service

Able Care and Support Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes including a group of people living in an extra care housing project. 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 this inspection the service was providing personal care to 86 people.

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

People who used the service received a very high quality of care from an exceptionally well led service. We received extremely positive feedback from people, relatives and professionals on how staff had developed caring relationships with people and their relatives. People consistently told us how they were supported with great kindness and respect.

The culture of the service was one of building positive relationships with people, not only making sure people were safe, but were happy and had a good quality of life. People spoke about looking forward to the visits from staff. One person had commented in their customer satisfaction survey, “I cannot thank you all enough for what you have done for me. I love each and every one of you, I really do.”

People were placed at the centre of the service and were consulted on every level. Respect for privacy and dignity was at the heart of culture and values of the service. Everyone told us staff went out of their way to involve people in deciding on how they wanted to be cared for and supported.

Relatives told us the service had a positive effect in people’s lives. For instance, one relative said, “[Staff] treat my parents so well. Mum has started singing again because all the staff sing with her. Lovely to hear her sing.”

The training provided to staff was of a particularly high standard, and this had proven very beneficial for people. For instance, the staff induction training ‘Boot Camp’ made sure staff shared the values of care, compassion, communication, courage, competence and commitment from the very start of their employment. Staffs’ specialist training in monitoring the health of people with particular health conditions had helped several people to stay in their own homes, where they wanted to be.

People were supported consistently by the same staff and regular checks on staff and their ability to do their jobs in a safe way meant people could be reassured they were receiving high quality care.

The service was especially well run. Staff and the registered manager shared the visions and values of the service and these were embedded within service delivery. There were systems to assess the quality of the service provided.

The service had won several nationally recognised awards. This included an award for providing a particularly high standard of care and support to people who were living with dementia, and another award, for caring for people who were at the end of their lives.

Staff worked in partnership with external health and social care professionals to ensure they supported people well. There was a very strong emphasis on continuous improvement. And the lessons learnt from incidents and people’s feedback where used to improve the service further.

People and their relatives told us they received very safe care. Staff understood their responsibilities in protecting people from the risk of harm. Risks to people's well-being and their environment were detailed and updated when circumstances changed. People received support to take their medicines safely and as prescribed.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

Good. The report was published in December 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.