NHES Care

Updated 23 January 2019

The inspection

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.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

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 registered manager four days’ notice of the inspection visit because the service is small and we needed to be sure that we could access records and speak with staff. Inspection site visit activity started on 13 November 2018 when we visited the agency’s office and ended on 18 December 2018 when we concluded our telephone interviews with people using the service.

What we did:

We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included information gathered when the agency registered with us. We also used information the provider sent us in their Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We visited the office location to see the registered manager and nominated individual, meet with staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We reviewed all three people’s care records, and looked at the staff file for the one member of staff employed to assess their recruitment, training and supervision. Records relating to the management of the service and a sample of policies and procedures were also reviewed to help us make judgments about the running of the service.

After the inspection at the office we made telephone calls to three relatives. We also contacted other professionals who were involved with the agency. One of these professionals provided written feedback about the service.

Updated 23 January 2019

What life is like for people using this service:

NHES Care is a new agency that was delivering high quality support to a small number of people. All the feedback was unanimously positive about the service people received. People felt valued and told us that their care met both their needs and expectations.

There were good systems in place to keep people safe. Risks had been assessed and action taken to safeguard people from the risk of abuse or avoidable harm.

Sufficient staff were employed to meet the needs of the people in receipt of support. Staff arrived on time and no calls were missed. People praised the flexibility of the agency and responsiveness to their changing needs and choices.

The management team took appropriate steps to ensure staff were suitably vetted prior to appointment. Specialist and mandatory training was ongoing to ensure staff had the skills and experience to support people effectively.

Each person was assessed prior to the commencement of care, from which a comprehensive plan of care was devised. This enabled staff to deliver support safely and in accordance with people’s needs and preferences.

The management team worked proactively with other healthcare professionals to ensure a holistic approach to care. There were systems in place to keep people healthy, hydrated and ensure medicines were administered as prescribed.

People were supported by a regular team of staff who knew them well. Staff were kind and compassionate in their approach and supported people to retain their independence and live full and meaningful lives.

The management team were proactive and committed to delivering high quality support and had a clear strategy for expanding the business, without compromising on quality.

More information can be seen in the main body of the report for each Key Question below.

Rating at last inspection:

This is our first inspection of this service. NHES Care was first registered with us on 14 November 2017.

About the service:

NHES Care is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to three people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on our corporate plan to inspect all new locations within 12 months of their date of registration.