Elite Care North West Limited

Updated 16 June 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 2 Expert by Experiences. 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 houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there were 2 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service under 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 24 May 2023 and ended on 5 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 24 May 2023.

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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people who used the service and 9 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered managers, deputy manager, care co-ordinators and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at records in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 16 June 2023

About the service

Elite Care Wigan is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people and younger adults with various needs. At the time of this inspection 231 people were using the service.

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.

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

Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff had the necessary safety checks in place before starting work and completed a full induction. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people. People were protected from the risks of abuse and staff were trusted to keep them safe.

Staff were trained to administer medicines. Staff had to undertake training before they could administer medicines and received competency checks to ensure they administered medicines safely.

Staff received training in infection prevention and control and told us personal protective equipment [PPE] was readily available to them.

People's care needs were risk assessed and care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risk. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Person-centred care was promoted. The registered managers and staff demonstrated a commitment to people, and they displayed person-centred values.

People and their relatives’ views had been sought through regular contact, surveys and quality monitoring. Staff views were sought through regular meetings, supervisions and surveys.

Governance systems were in place to monitor the standard of care people received. The registered managers worked effectively in partnership with other health and social care organisations and commissioners.

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 good (report published 18 July 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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