London Care (Holloway)

Updated 25 November 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 three inspectors and two Expert by Experience who contacted people who used the service and relatives after we visited the agencies office location. 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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 October 2022 and ended on 7 November 2022. We visited the location’s office on 18 October 2022.

What we did before the 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. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and eight relatives We spoke with 17 staff, including the registered manager, the care manager, one field supervisor, one office administrator and12 care workers. We viewed 17 care plans and multiple medicines records. We viewed a number of other records including six staffing files and records in relation to the management of the service.

Updated 25 November 2022

About the service

London Care (Holloway) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in the London Borough of Islington. At the time of our inspection the service provided personal care to 247 people. People supported were older people, people with dementia, people with physical disabilities and people with mental illness. 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

People were kept safe from risk and harm and staff had a good understanding of safeguarding processes. Risk assessments were robust and relevant. Staff recruitment processes were robust and staffing levels ensured peoples' needs were met. The provider followed current infection prevention and control guidance. People who used the service were assisted with their medicines safely. There were systems in place to record and monitor accidents and incident and lessons learned were discussed with staff to minimise the risk of such events reoccurring.

People's needs were assessed, and staff were trained to provide support whilst promoting people’s independence. People told us staff were polite and always asked before providing support. People were involved in decisions about their support needs. People were supported to access healthcare professionals if this was required. 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 told us that they were well cared for by staff who were caring, kind and treated them with dignity and respect.

People and their relatives told us they were involved in the support planning process to ensure it met their needs. The provider was open and honest in its approach to supporting people. The registered manager led by example and was in regular contact with people receiving support to ensure they received regular feedback on the quality of care provided.

The service had effective systems to monitor the quality of care and improvements were made to ensure people received good quality of care. Were required the service consulted with external professionals’ and stakeholders to make improvements to the service provided.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 19 January 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was a planned comprehensive inspection. We inspected the service because it was not rated since the service was registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Recommendations

We asked the service to seek further guidance ensuring that staff allocated were given sufficient travelling time between care visits to ensure they were able to stay the allocated time when supporting people.

Follow up

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