Care Plus Essex Limited part of Manorcourt Care

Updated 31 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 between the 02 and 04 October 2018 and was announced. We gave the service notice of the inspection visit because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure staff would be present in the office. The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors 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. The expert-by-experience did not attend the office of the service or visit people at home, but spoke by telephone with people and relatives of people who used the service.

At the time of this inspection, 50 people were using the service.

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Prior to the inspection, we gathered information from several sources. We reviewed the information we held about the service, which included notifications submitted to us by the service. A notification should be sent to CQC every time a significant incident has taken place. For example, where a person who uses the service experiences a serious injury.

On 02 October 2018, we visited the service's office to see and speak with the manager. We looked at the care records of eight people and three staff files as well as the medicine management processes and records that were maintained by the provider about recruitment and staff training. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service. On 03 October 2018, we visited two people who received support at their homes to ask their opinions of the service and to check their care files. We also spoke with a member of staff and a relative during one of these visits. Following these visits, we spoke with another five members of staff, eight people and two relatives by telephone.

Updated 31 October 2018

Care Plus Essex Limited part of Manorcourt Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

This inspection started on 03 October 2018 and ended on 04 October 2018. The inspection was announced. At their last inspection on 10 August 2015, we found one area that required improvement. The service did not have a robust process in place for missed calls and not all staff had their competency assessed following their medicines training. At this inspection, we found they now met all the standards.

There was a manager at the service who had been in post for five months. The manager had applied to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

People received their medicines safely and staff competency was assessed prior to them administering medicines. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to ensure risk of harm was minimised. The new manager had reduced missed calls and was monitoring this proactively.

Potential risks to people had been assessed and managed appropriately by the manager. Staff had been recruited appropriately and had received relevant training so they were able to support people with their individual care and support needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet, which considered their culture, needs and preferences, so their health was promoted, and choices could be respected. Access to healthcare professionals was supported.

There were positive relationships between people and members of staff. Staff treated people with kindness and took the time to get to know them and their interests whilst providing their care. The service had involved people in developing their care plans to ensure care was provided in the way they wanted it to be.

The provider had effective auditing systems in place to monitor the effectiveness and quality of service provision. People's views on the quality of the service were gathered and used to support service development. People using the service, their relatives and staff were confident about approaching the manager if they needed to.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.