St Edmunds Care

Updated 28 November 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 was carried out by an inspector 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 houses and flats.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of our inspection. The provider had applied to the Care Quality Commission to register as the manager. As the provider they 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 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.

Inspection activity started on 22 October 2019 and ended on 24 October 2019. We visited the office location on 22 October 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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke by telephone with six people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider

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

Updated 28 November 2019

St Edmunds Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 60 people.

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

People were supported by staff who had been trained and were knowledgeable about reporting and acting on any concerns about people's safety and well-being. Risk assessments were in place and staff adhered to these for the management of risks to people's safety. Staffing levels were enough to meet people's needs and recruitment processes were safe. People's medicines were managed safely by staff who had received appropriate training. People were protected from the risks associated with the spread of infection.

People received effective care from staff who had the knowledge and skills to carry out their job roles. People were supported to eat and drink and maintain a balanced diet based on their needs and preferences. People's needs were assessed before they started to use the service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were caring and treated people with respect and dignity. People were encouraged to be independent. They had their privacy and dignity respected. People were involved in making decisions about their care and the support they received. People received care and support which was personalised to their wishes and responsive to their needs. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs, choices and preferences, and were aware of how to meet people's individual needs as they changed. People and relatives felt able to make a complaint and were confident that complaints would be listened to and acted on.

People, relatives and staff felt the management team was approachable and the service was managed well. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in ensuring the quality of the service was maintained. There were effective systems in place to seek people's views and opinions about the running of the service and drive improvements.

We have made a recommendation that the provider reviews how they keeps up to date with changing legal requirements.

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

This service was registered with us on 21/12//2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.