Archived: Eleanor Nursing and Social Care Ltd - Northumberland Office

Updated 7 September 2022

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 one inspector and 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 7 July 2022 and ended on 28 July 2022. We visited the location’s office on the 8 and 15 July 2022.

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 two people, three relatives, one visiting professional, the registered manager, care planner, two recruitment officers and four support workers. We also spoke with the regional manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records, medicines' records and one staff file in relation to recruitment. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, training information and audits.

Updated 7 September 2022

About the service

Eleanor Nursing and Social Care Ltd - Northumberland Office is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 23 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 safeguarded against the risk of abuse. People told us they felt safe and said that no-one had ever made them feel uncomfortable or nervous.

We received mixed feedback about staffing. Some people and relatives told us that staff were sometimes late or did not stay for the full length of time. We have made a recommendation that the provider keeps staff deployment, including the length and times of calls, under review to ensure staff deployment meets people’s assessed needs. The registered manager told us that an electronic monitoring system was being introduced which would enable management staff to monitor calls and any issues in ‘real time’.

Recruitment checks were carried out before prospective staff started at the service to help ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Recruitment was ongoing. The registered manager had introduced an employee referral, recognition and reward scheme to help them find and retain staff.

Safe infection control procedures were followed. People and relatives told us that staff wore PPE to help reduce the risk of infection. Staff undertook regular testing to check for COVID-19.

There was a system in place to manage medicines safely. Staff had completed training and competency checks were carried out.

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.

There had been a delay in the provider sending us requested information regarding concerns which had been raised anonymously. This information was supplied at the time of the inspection. We have made a recommendation that the provider reviews their communication systems to ensure information requested by CQC is submitted in a timely manner.

Audits were carried out to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The provider was reviewing and strengthening their electronic quality monitoring system to support management staff access information and produce reports in a timely manner.

There were systems in place to involve people, relatives and staff in the running of the service. Anonymous surveys were carried out. Some people and relatives told us that more communication would be appreciated. The regional manager explained they were reviewing the effectiveness of the anonymous surveys.

There was a cheerful atmosphere at the office when we visited. Staff spoke positively about working at the service and the people they supported. People and relatives were complimentary about the care staff and said they were polite, friendly and willing to help. Comments included, “Staff are very friendly and [ person] gets on with them very well,” “I am really glad to see them when they arrive” and “They treat both of us with dignity and respect and we are very grateful for what they do.”

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 (published 12 March 2021).

Why we inspected

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

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in the safe and well-led key questions in relation to staff deployment and provider communication. Please see these sections for further details.

Follow up

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