Elite Careplus Ltd

Updated 10 October 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 Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the offices of this service. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, the field supervisor, the care co-ordinator and 2 care workers. We inspected 4 people’s care files and 4 staff files. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 3 relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 10 October 2023

About the service:

Care Plus Elite Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. People had a wide range of needs. At the time of the inspection it provided a service for 33 people. 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:

People using the service and their relatives told us communications with the office were good. They said they were informed if staff were going to be late or if the person’s care needs changed.

People told us they felt safe and were protected from the risk of abuse. The service had appropriate safeguarding procedures. Staff told us they received regular appropriate training in person and they knew how to safeguard people from abuse and the processes that should be followed where concerns arose.

Risk assessments and risk management strategies were in place as part of the assessment and support planning process. This meant risks to people and to staff were minimised.

There were robust recruitment practices in place and sufficient staff levels to meet people's needs.

There were appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure people received their medicines safely. Appropriate training was available for staff on the safe administration of medicines. This together with appropriate supervision and monitoring meant when required people received their medicines, this was carried out safely and staff had clear guidance to follow.

The provider had ensured that appropriate training and supervision was available for staff. Most of the training staff received was classroom based. Staff told us this was more effective than other forms of IT based training. Training packages included understanding and how to manage best practice for infection control and the use of PPE.

There were systems in place to ensure that accidents, incidents and risks were appropriately recorded and included details of preventive strategies used by the service to reduce the likelihood of events occurring in the future.

Together with referral information, assessments of need were carried out and these informed people’s support plans which were reviewed and updated as people's needs changed.

People told us they were well supported by staff. They were supported to eat and drink according to their dietary requirements taking into consideration people's preferences.

People told us they received good quality care from kind and caring staff. They said their care was delivered by regular staff and this provided the consistency and continuity they needed. They told us they were treated with dignity and respect. They told us staff had the right skills to deliver appropriate care and support.

Staff were able to communicate with people well.

People and their relatives said the registered manager welcomed feedback and they said complaints were dealt with swiftly and professionally. People told us they thought the service was well led and that they were very happy with the support they received.

There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people which ensured good governance. Technology was used effectively by the provider to ensure people were informed promptly about potentially missed or late calls. The service had systems in place to notify the appropriate authorities where concerns were identified. The culture of the service was positive, open and person centred.

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:

The last rating for this service was good (published 22 January 2018).

Why we inspected:

This inspection was prompted because the service had not received a comprehensive inspection since January 2018.

Follow up:

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