Archived: London Care (Shepperton)

Updated 13 May 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 12 April 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we wanted to make sure someone would be available.

The inspection visit was conducted by one inspector. Before the visit we contacted people who used the service and their relatives by telephone. Some of these phone calls were made by 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. The expert-by-experience supporting this inspection had person experience of caring for a family member who used care services.

Before the inspection visit we looked at all the information we held about the provider, including notifications of significant events, accidents and incidents. During the inspection visit we met the registered manager, regional manager and staff who worked in the agency offices. We spoke with 11 people who used the service and 14 relatives and next of kin of other people. We had email feedback from six care workers employed by the agency. We looked at records which included, the care plans for four people who used the service, the records of recruitment, training and support for seven members of staff, records of complaints and other records the provider used to monitor and manage the service. Following the inspection we spoke with a representative of the local authority commissioning group.

Updated 13 May 2016

The inspection took place on 12 April 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because they offer a domiciliary care service and we wanted to make sure someone would be available.

The last inspection of the service was on 19 May 2014 when we found there were no breaches of Regulations.

London Care – Shepperton is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people who live in their own homes within Northwest Surrey. The majority of people using the service were over the age of 65 years, although some younger adults also received care. At the time of our inspection there were 109 people using the service. London Care Limited is part of a larger national organisation, City and County Healthcare Group, providing personal care to adults in their own homes, extra care schemes and other care services.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Some of the things people said about London Care – Shepperton were, ''They do a very good job'', ''They are excellent, nothing I can say to improve things, they do a wonderful job'', ''They have helped me in more ways than you can imagine'' and ''I have been getting stronger since they started helping me, you get a buzz when things keep getting better and it’s down to them.''

There were procedures which were designed to keep people safe and protect them from abuse.

The risks to people's wellbeing and safety had been assessed and the staff had information about how to keep people safe.

People received the medicines they had been prescribed in a safe way.

There were procedures to be followed in event of an emergency and the staff were aware of these.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The staff had been recruited in a suitable way.

People told us they had been consulted about their care and had agreed to this.

People were cared for by staff who were appropriately trained and supported.

People had the support they needed to meet their nutritional needs.

People were given the support they needed to stay healthy. People were cared for by kind, considerate and polite staff. They had good relationships with the staff and the staff understood the need to respect people.

People's privacy and dignity was respected.

People were supported to stay independent in areas they wished and were able. People's care needs had been assessed, recorded and were being met.

People felt confident raising concerns with the agency and told us complaints were investigated and acted upon.

The manager was appropriately qualified and people felt able to speak with them and senior staff about the service.

People were consulted about their own care and the staff were also consulted about the agency.

There were a range of audits and checks to make sure the service met people's needs.

Records were well maintained, accurate and up to date.