Anglia Care received an overall rating of Requires Improvement following a focused inspection of the Safe and Well-led domains, with breaches of Regulation 17 (good governance) and Regulation 18 (staffing) identified. Key concerns included short or missed visit times, staff not always competent to meet individual needs, absent registered manager, inconsistent and out-of-date care records, and governance systems insufficient to identify and address shortfalls in a timely manner.
Concerns (11)
criticalStaffing levels — “67% of visits had no travel time between each visit... 11% of visits were less than half the planned duration and 41% of visits were between 50% and 90% of the planned length”
criticalGovernance — “Governance systems in place were not robust enough to assess, monitor and mitigate risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service.”
criticalRecord keeping — “Care plans were not always kept up to date and current... one part stated there were no medical conditions recorded, and in another part listed the person's conditions.”
moderateStaff competency — “staff who undertook visits did not always know how to support them. People said they were spending the time they should be receiving care explaining to staff how to provide care”
moderateSupervision / appraisal — “not all of the staff files included 1 to 1 staff supervision and appraisals and where these were in place, they had not followed up on the shortfalls identified in spot checks”
moderatePerson-centred care — “The language and ways of describing the support provided used in some daily records was not always person centred or respectful.”
moderateCommunication with families — “One person said they received, 'Zero,' contact from the office, 'The only time I speak to anyone from the office is when I call them.'”
moderateCare planning — “there were 2 care plans being used for people... a risk that staff may not always read the 2 sets of care records and potentially miss information of how to keep people safe.”
moderateMedication management — “some records were contradictory regarding who supported people with their medicines... prompts on the electronic system for what creams were to be administered, this was not in the main body of the care plans.”
moderateLeadership — “There was no registered manager in post. The last registered manager deregistered in March 2023.”
minorIncident learning — “the oversight in the service needed improvement to ensure all actions taken were recorded.”
Strengths
· Medicine audits demonstrated checks were undertaken and where errors identified, actions were taken to reduce risks to people.
· Staff received training in the safe handling of medicines and their competency was checked.
· Records showed staff were recruited safely, including DBS checks.
· Staff received training in infection control and sufficient PPE was provided.
· Safeguarding concerns were reported to the local authority safeguarding team when abuse was suspected.
Quality-Statement breakdown (10)
safe: Staffing and recruitmentRequires improvement
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementRequires improvement
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture; managers and staff being clear about their roles and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffRequires improvement
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
Anglia Care, a domiciliary care service in Ipswich, received a Good rating across all five key questions at its first inspection under the new provider on 22 January 2015. The service demonstrated strong person-centred care, robust safeguarding practices, effective medicines management, and well-supported staff operating within an open and well-led culture.
Strengths
· People felt safe and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and whistle blowing policy
· Detailed, person-centred care plans developed with involvement of people using the service
· Safe medicines management with regular staff competency assessments
· Staff received regular training, supervision, appraisals and spot checks
· Mental Capacity Act 2005 principles understood and applied by staff in day-to-day practice
Anglia Care, a homecare service for 92 people in Ipswich, retained its Good rating across all five key questions at this September 2017 KLOE inspection. No regulatory breaches were identified; the service demonstrated consistent safe, person-centred care with effective governance and a positive, open culture.
Strengths
· People felt safe and reported no missed or late visits; electronic visit monitoring system in place
· Robust recruitment procedures including DBS checks and references before staff commenced work
· Medicines administered safely with trained care workers and accurate records
· Care workers received induction, care certificate assessment, regular supervision and annual appraisals
· Staff trained in MCA; people's consent sought before all care and support
caring: Treating people with kindness, dignity and respect