Archived: Elyon Healthcare

Updated 20 December 2016

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.

This inspection took place between 15 and 25 November 2016. The inspection was announced and was undertaken by one inspector. We gave 24 hours’ notice of the inspection as the service is small and we needed to be sure that they would be in.

We reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During this inspection we spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives of people who could not speak for themselves. We also looked at care records relating to three people. In total we spoke with nine members of staff, including four care staff, two team leaders, the clinical lead, the registered manager and the provider. We looked at five records in relation to staff recruitment and training, as well as records related to the quality monitoring of the service.

Updated 20 December 2016

Elyon Healthcare provides personal care for people living at home in Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes. At the time of our inspection there were 22 adults and three children receiving personal care. This announced inspection took place between 15 and 25 November 2016.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

The registered manager had values and a clear vision that was person centred and focussed on enabling people to live at home. The provider had ensured that they had the systems and processes in place to provide for people’s individual care needs. All staff demonstrated a commitment to providing a service for people that met their individual needs. People had positive relationships with staff.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff provided people with information to enable them to make an informed decision and encouraged people to make their own choices.

People received safe care and support. Staff understood their role in safeguarding people and they knew how to report concerns. There were enough staff with the right skills and attitudes to meet people’s needs.

Staff had a full understanding of people’s support needs and had the required skills and knowledge to meet them. Training records were up to date and staff received regular supervisions and appraisals. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities in caring for people and received regular support from the provider.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures required to minimise any risks. Staff were vigilant regarding people’s changing health needs and sought guidance from relevant healthcare professionals.

Staff were aware of the importance of managing complaints promptly and in line with the provider’s policy. Staff and people were confident that if they had any concerns they would be listened to and any concerns would be addressed.

The provider monitored the quality and safety of the service and staff regularly monitored the support people received. People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive continuous improvement.