Enterprise Care Support Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people living in their own homes. The service specialises in providing care at home to people whose first language may not be English. At the time of our inspection 80 people were receiving a personal care at home service from this provider and ten others did not receive any personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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
Most people receiving a care at home service from this agency and their relatives told us they were generally happy with the overall standard of the service they or their loved one received from Enterprise Care Support Limited.
However, we found evidence during our inspection of multiple breaches of regulation and the need for this provider to make improvements.
The service was not always safe. This was because the provider did not always ensure people's medicines were always managed appropriately and we found numerous errors with documentation.
In addition, we received mixed feedback from people about staff time keeping, with a number of peoples’ relatives and community social care professional’s expressing dissatisfaction with staff arrival times and missed visits. We discussed this staffing issue with the provider at the time of our inspection who assured us they had plans to address this ongoing issue by introducing an electronic call monitoring system by June 2022, which would help improve how they coordinated and monitored staffs’ scheduled call visits. Progress made by the provider to achieve this aim will be monitored by the CQC.
The service was not always responsive. People’s complaints and concerns raised about the standard of care they or their relatives received from this provider were not always well-managed. For example, we found the provider did not always investigate, respond well or learn lessons when complaints were raised. This meant people had been placed at unnecessary risk of being harmed.
The service was not always well-managed. The provider had failed to always notify the CQC without delay of the occurrence of incidents that had adversely affected the health, safety and well-being of people using the service. This placed people at risk of harm because the CQC was not aware of how the provider had managed such incidents and were keeping people safe.
Furthermore, the provider did not always operate their governance systems effectively because they had failed to identify and/or take appropriate action to address a number of unsafe practices and issues we found during this inspection.
People were kept safe from abuse and risks they might face were suitably assessed and managed. People received continuity of care from a regular group of staff who were familiar with their personal needs and wishes, and whose fitness to work in adult social care had been thoroughly assessed. Staff followed current best practice guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection, including those associated with COVID-19.
Assessments of people’s support needs and wishes were carried out before they started receiving any support from this provider. People received personal care from staff who had the right mix of knowledge, skills and support to perform their roles and responsibilities well. 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.
Where staff were responsible for preparing people’s meals and/or assisting them to eat and drink, people were supported to access food and drink that met their dietary needs and wishes. People were supported to stay healthy and well, and to access relevant community health and social care services as and when required.
People's care plans were person-centred, which helped staff provide them with the individualised home care and support they needed. Staff ensured they communicated and shared information with people in a way they could easily understand. People were encouraged to make decisions about the care and support they received at home and staff respected their informed choices. Where appropriate, people's end of life wishes and contacts were known and recorded for staff to refer to.
Most people receiving a care at home service, their relatives and staff were complimentary about the way the registered manager/owner ran the service, and how approachable they were. The registered manager promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people, their relatives and staff. The provider worked in close partnership with other health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver people’s packages of home care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 26 October 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We received concerns in relation to staff missing or being late for their scheduled visits, staff training and poor record keeping. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led.
When we inspected we also found there was a concern with how the provider managed complaints and concerns, so we widened the scope of the inspection to include the key question of responsive.
For the key question of caring, which was not inspected, we used the rating awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the relevant key question sections and what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Enterprise Care Support Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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 monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified two breaches in relation to how this provider manages complaints, their governance systems and record keeping 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 from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.