Enfield Carers Centre

Updated 9 April 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 Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and two Experts 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. The Experts by Experience supported the inspection by making telephone calls to people and their carers and relatives.

Service and service type

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

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 48 hours’ 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. Inspection activity started on 16 December 2021 and ended on 27 January 2022. We visited the location’s office on 16 December 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the nominated individual and a care coordinator. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed six staff files including, training, recruitment and supervision records. We looked at some quality assurance processes including staff spot checks.

After the inspection

We spoke with 11 relatives, two people who used the service and seven care staff. We also spoke further with the registered manager. We reviewed six people’s care and support plans and risk assessments, policies and procedures and further auditing processes.

Updated 9 April 2022

About the service

Enfield Carers Centre is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The agency provides a respite service which allows relatives and carers to have a break and have some time for themselves. The agency worked with children and young adults with a learning disability and/or autism as well as older adults with dementia and/or physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people 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

Many of the people receiving support were children or young people with Autism. Many were non-verbal and had behaviours that could place them in danger if they were not adequately supervised. All the parents of such young people were confident that the care workers supporting their children knew how to keep their children safe when they were not present. People had comprehensive risk assessments that provided guidance to staff and were reviewed regularly. Staff had received medicines training and people received their medicines safely and on time. There were robust recruitment systems in place to ensure staff were safe to work with vulnerable people.

People and relatives told us they valued the support offered to them by the care staff and appreciated their professional and dedicated approach to their work. Care staff arrived at the time stipulated in the care plan and were involved in a meaningful way with the people they worked with. 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. People were supported to eat and drink where this was an identified need.

Care staff were described as, “Tremendous”, “A life saver”, “Dedicated” and “Lovely”. Staff we spoke with were passionate about the care they provided and knew people well. People usually had the same care staff visiting them. People were treated with dignity and respect and recognised as individuals with their own likes and dislikes.

People had detailed care plans which reflected how they wanted to receive their care. Care plans were reviewed regularly. People and relatives were fully involved in all aspects of planning care. People were encouraged to take part in activities that were meaningful to them.

Everyone we spoke with thought the organisation was well-managed and that the office staff were very approachable and obliging. People were very happy with the care given and appreciated the short periods of time they were given for themselves whilst care workers looked after their loved ones. The service valued people and relatives’ feedback and there were numerous ways in which this was gathered.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were treated as individuals with their own preferences. Care was person centred and tailored to achieve maximum wellbeing for people. Staff had received training in working with people with a learning disability and/or autism. The values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up

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