25 June 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Newham is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own home. At the time of the inspection 51 people was using the service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
We found recruitment practice to be unsafe. This meant we could not be assured that staff employed were of good character and safe to work with people. Risk assessments lacked detail on how to mitigate the risks people faced. Staff deployment was not always effective, and staff were not always on time for care visits. Therefore, we could not be assured that people’s need were always met. Accidents and incidents were not always recorded, and complaints were not dealt with in line with the providers policies and procedures. The management did not identify the areas where improvements were needed to service delivery.
Systems for monitoring the quality of the service were ineffective in identifying some of the issues found during our inspection. Audits were not routinely carried out.
Staff training was not effective enough to ensure staff understood their responsibilities in reporting and acting on abuse. Staff competency to administer medicines was not comprehensively assessed.
People were not always 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 did not always support this practice. We found the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were not always followed by the service. We have made a recommendation in relation to the consent and the Mental Capacity Act.
People and relatives told us they felt safe with care staff who treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in decisions about their care and staff were described by people and relatives as caring and kind.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 22 May 2018)
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on concerns raised about the quality of care, safeguarding and the management of the service.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering
what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.
We have identified breaches in relation to staff recruitment, staffing levels, staff training and supervision, complaints and management of the service.
Full information about CQC's regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will
return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.