Easy Like Sunday Morning Limited

Updated 15 June 2023

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 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

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

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 28 April 2023 and ended on 12 May 2023 when we visited the location’s office.

What we did before the inspection

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 30 June 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with the CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 used technology such as telephone calls to enable us to engage with people using the service, relatives of people and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review some of the documentation requested. We also reviewed documents during our visit to the office.

We spoke with 2 people and 6 relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager who is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with the managing director, the care coordinator and 4 care staff.

We reviewed a range of records using electronic file sharing and during our site visit. This included 3 people's care records and medication administration records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment.

We also looked at staff training, spot checks and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed. This included safeguarding, incident and accident records, complaints, quality assurance processes, business contingency plans and the recruitment policy.

The registered manager sent us examples of compliments received from an external source and a local authority service commissioner following our site visit.

Updated 15 June 2023

About the service

Easy Like Sunday Morning Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service provides support for older and younger people. At the time of the inspection there were 12 people using the service.

CQC only inspects where people receive the regulated activity of 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

Recruitment checks were carried out on potential new staff to the service, to help ensure they were safe to work with the people they supported. However, there were gaps in staff recruitment records and checks. Improvements were needed to ensure all staff had a full employment history documented so that gaps in employment could be explained. References from previous employers were not always robust to ensure authenticity and health declarations were not always recorded.

Quality audits and governance monitoring were carried out to review the quality of the service provided. Actions were in place to make the necessary improvements found. However, staff recruitment checks had not been monitored.

Staff had a good knowledge of the people they supported and had access to information in peoples' care plans and risk assessments. This information helped guide and inform staff on how to care and support people safely and effectively. Not everyone needed medicines administration support from staff. Where this support was required, staff were trained to administer people’s prescribed medicines safely. Their competency to administer medicines in line with their training was checked by more senior staff.

People fed back that staff were kind and respectful towards them. People told us there were enough knowledgeable and trained staff to meet their care and support needs. Staff understood how to report concerns about allegations of poor care and harm. Staff confirmed that they would feel confident to whistle-blow any concerns they had to their registered manager or the external agencies such as the local authority, police and the CQC.

Staff were trained in infection prevention and control. They had plenty of personal protective equipment and were aware of good infection control practices to reduce the risk of cross contamination. Systems were in place to learn lessons when an incident, accident or near miss occurred or there was a risk of this.

People, and their relatives told us the different ways the registered manager requested feedback on the service provided. This included verbally during staff spot checks, care plan reviews and via a survey. Staff were encouraged to discuss and review their performance through spot checks, supervision, and team meetings.

Staff encouraged people, where this level of support was required, to drink and eat plenty. People told us they were encouraged by staff to make their own choices and these choices were respected. Where people wanted to discuss their end of life wishes this information would be recorded to guide staff.

Staff helped promote and maintain people's privacy and dignity. People gave examples of how staff did this. Staff also encouraged people to be as independent as possible. With the support from staff, people were able to remain in their own homes as was their wish. Staff also encouraged people and their relatives, where appropriate, to be involved in discussions around their support and care needs.

The registered manager worked with external health and social care professionals. This helped people receive joined up care and support. There was a process in place to investigate and resolve complaints where possible. Compliments about the service provided had been received. Actions were taken because of learning to try to reduce the risk of recurrence.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 October 2021, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection of this service since it registered with the CQC.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to staff recruitment checks.

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.