Archived: Esteem Homecare Services

Updated 9 October 2015

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.

The inspection of Esteem Homecare took place on 7 July 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the location office to see us. It makes it sound as if that is the only reason we visit the office.

Before the inspection visit we reviewed the information we held about the service, which included notifications submitted by the provider and spoke with the local authority contracts and safeguarding teams and with Healthwatch. This organisation represents the views of local people in how their health and social care services are provided.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one expert by experience who supported the inspection by carrying out telephone interviews to seek the views and experiences of people using the service. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service and had expertise in adult health and social care.

Before we visited we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We asked for and received a list of names of people who received a personal care services so that we could contact them and seek their views.

During our visit to the agency we spoke with a director of the organisation, the registered manager, the care coordinator, and three care staff. We spoke with seven people who used the service, two relatives and one Mental Health Support worker. We reviewed the records for four people who used the service and staff recruitment and training files for three staff. We checked management records including staff rotas, staff meeting minutes, quality assurance visits, annual surveys, the staff handbook and the Statement of Purpose. We also looked at a sample of policies and procedures including the complaints policy and the medicines policy.

Updated 9 October 2015

The inspection was carried out on 7July 2015. At our previous inspection on 23 September 2013 the provider was meeting the regulations that were assessed.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Esteem Homecare Services provides domiciliary care and support in Easingwold, Thirsk, Northallerton, Bedale and the surrounding areas. It operates from an office located in Easingwold.

At the time of our inspection there were 34 people who received a service from the agency.

People who received care and support from the agency provided us with positive feedback. They said they received a reliable service and a good standard of support from caring, kind and compassionate staff. People told us they felt safe in the way staff supported them and had confidence in the staff.

Care and support was provided to people in their own home on a flexible basis and in accordance with individual needs. Risks to people’s safety and welfare had been assessed and information about how to support people to manage risks was recorded in people's care plan.

Staff had a good understanding of how to identify abuse, and knew how to respond appropriately to any concerns to keep people safe.

Recruitment procedures were in place to ensure that only people who were deemed suitable worked within the service. There was an induction programme for new staff which prepared them for their role. Staff were provided with a range of training to help them to carry out their roles effectively. They had regular supervision meetings with their manager and annual appraisals to support them to meet people’s needs. There were enough staff employed by the service to meet people’s needs.

People had care plans in place which reflected their assessed needs. People were supported effectively with their health needs and were involved in making decisions about what kind of support they wanted.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and cared for them according to their individual needs. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and preferences and we received positive feedback from relatives about the service provided by care workers.

People using the service, relatives and staff were encouraged to give feedback on the service. They knew how to make complaints and there was an effective complaints management system in place.

The service carried out regular audits to monitor the quality of the service and to plan improvements. Where issues were identified action plans were put in place to rectify these.