Shared Care Services Limited, a domiciliary care agency in Ilford serving 44 people, retained its Good rating across all five key questions at its October 2019 inspection. Minor recommendations were made regarding the depth of equality and diversity information in care plans and the absence of end-of-life care systems, but no regulatory breaches were identified.
Concerns (3)
minor
Care planning
: “care plans were basic in detailing equality and diversity needs of people. We made a recommendation in this area.”
minorMissed or late visits: “we found that staff were late on some occasions. A relative said, "If carer is running late, [they] always lets us know."”
minorEnd-of-life care: “Systems were not in place to ensure people received appropriate end of life care.”
Strengths
· Relatives expressed high confidence in staff safety, with comments such as 'I could trust [person's] life in care staff's hands.'
· Robust pre-employment checks and sufficient staffing levels, with no missed visits reported by relatives.
· Medicines administered safely with no gaps or errors found in MAR sheets.
· Staff received comprehensive induction, Care Certificate training, regular supervision every two months, and annual appraisals.
· Care plans were personalised and reviewed with relatives' involvement twice yearly or more frequently as needed.
Quality-Statement breakdown (24)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesGood
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsGood
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and supportGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood
Shared Care Services Limited received an overall Good rating across all five key questions at its May 2017 inspection, with relatives, staff and social care professionals consistently praising the quality, consistency and responsiveness of care provided to children and young people with learning disabilities. Minor shortfalls were identified in medicines competency assessment and care plan detail, with recommendations made to align medication records with NICE guidance.
Concerns (3)
moderateMedication management: “Staff had received medicines training but their competence to administer medicines had not been assessed.”
minorMedication management: “the recording system did not meet with the NICE guidance on managing medicines for adults receiving social care in the community.”
minorCare planning: “Individual care plans covered the areas were people needed support but these were not always detailed. For example, one plan said to assist with personal care, another said to support to stay safe.”
Strengths
· Relatives reported high satisfaction with care quality and consistency of regular staff providing continuity of care
· Strong safeguarding culture with staff receiving training and manager regularly discussing safeguarding responsibilities
· Robust recruitment process including DBS checks, identity verification, and two references before employment
· 75% of staff held a minimum Level 3 qualification in health and social care
· Service achieved C2E (Committed2Equality) accreditation demonstrating strong cultural and diversity practice