Barking

Updated 13 February 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

There was one inspector.

Service and service type:

Barking Metropolitan Care Services Limited a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. 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 service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the registered manager was often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. The registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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 looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We spoke with the local authority commissioners.

During the office site visit we looked at records, which included three people's care and medicines records. We checked recruitment, training and supervision records for three staff. We also looked at a range of records about how the service was managed. We spoke with the registered manager and provider.

After the inspection we spoke with two people and one advocate by telephone to gather their views about the service. We also contacted three members of staff to ask them questions about their roles and to confirm information we had received about them during our inspection.

Updated 13 February 2019

About the service:

Barking Metropolitan Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to nine people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they received safe care. Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew what action they should take and how to report any concerns they had.

Staff had been trained in a variety of areas and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. Systems were in place to support them and monitor their work.

People had risk assessments in place. Where risks had been identified there were plans to manage them effectively. There was an accident policy and a contingency plan to ensure the service could continue in the event of an emergency.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s care and support needs. A system was in place to recruit suitable staff.

Staff sought people’s consent before providing support to them. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed.

People were supported to maintain nutritional and fluid intake. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and promoted their independence. People made their own decisions and staff were aware of people’s choices and care needs.

Care plans were detailed, specific to the person and reflected people’s choices and preferences. People were involved in planning their care and were supported by external health professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.

The service had a complaints procedure. People, their relatives and staff knew how to complain. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service, such as surveys, audits and spot checks.

There was an open and person-centred culture within the service. People, staff and relatives felt able to express their views. Feedback regarding the management of the service was positive.

Rating at last inspection:

Requires Improvement (report published 13 February 2018).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At the last inspection on 16 January 2018, the service was rated as requires improvement. We asked the provider to take action to make improvements with regard to time keeping as some people and relatives told us the staff did not always arrive and leave on time. We also asked them to improve the system for recording and monitoring staff visits as it was not working effectively, and this could put people at risk. During this inspection we found the actions have been completed.

Follow up:

We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

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