Archived: Manorcourt Homecare

Updated 21 December 2019

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 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two 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.

Service and service type

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

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

We gave the service 24 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 10 November 2019 and ended on 26 November 2019. We visited the office location on 26 November 2019.

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 who work with the service. We used this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We obtained feedback from eight people and four relatives about the quality of care provided by Manorcourt Homecare. We gathered feedback from nine staff which included care and office-based staff. We also spoke with the registered manager, quality manager and director of quality who both represented the provider.

We looked at three people’s medicine records, six people’s care records and three staff recruitment, training and supervision files. We also reviewed records in relation to how the registered manager and provider monitored the quality of care provided to people.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager regarding the information we received during the inspection. This included data in relation to the reviewing of care documents, how the provider monitored the quality of care provided and staffing levels.

Updated 21 December 2019

About the service

Manorcourt Homecare is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. 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. At the time of the inspection approximately 98 people were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People had not always received their medicines correctly and the provider had not ensured that people’s consent had been obtained in line with the relevant legislation.

There were enough staff available to ensure people received their care visits and that they were safe. However, there were not enough to deliver care in line with people’s preferred call times as much as was practicable. People said staff were often late or their calls were at inconsistent times, particularly at weekends. This they said, affected their day and wellbeing. The registered manager had recognised this and was trying to recruit more staff to the service to improve this area.

The provider’s governance systems had not been robust at driving improvement within the service since our last inspection. Audits had not always been effective at identifying mistakes or concerns so they could be thoroughly investigated. The provider had recognised they did not have robust oversight and were introducing new systems to improve this in the new year.

Staff were kind and caring. However, the service had not been designed to ensure the care people received was fully person-centred or caring.

Staff had received training and supervision, but we found some issues with their competency in some areas. We have therefore made a recommendation the provider reviews how they assess staff practice.

People told us there was an open culture at the service where they could raise complaints without fear. Some people felt their complaints had not been listened to and the service did not always have records to show that people had complained.

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Most risks to people’s safety had been assessed and managed well. Staff took precautions to protect people from the risk of the spread of infection.

People received support to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and received assistance with their healthcare needs when required. The service worked well with other professionals.

Staff treated people with respect. They upheld people’s dignity and encouraged their independence. People’s end of life wishes had been captured and were respected.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published December 2018). The service remains rated Requires Improvement. This service has been rated Requires Improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches at this inspection in relation to the management of people’s medicines, consent, providing person-centred care and good governance.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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 also meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.