Elmes Homecare

“There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service operates.”

“The inspection was unannounced and carried out in response to concerns about safe care and treatment, medicines administration and staff not being suitably trained. We assessed all the quality statements from the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions. The overall rating for the service is Requires Improvement. We found 5 breaches of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, safe and effective staffing, fit and proper persons employed and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.”

“People were not receiving consistently person-centred care that met their needs. This was because risks to people had not been consistently identified and/or mitigated and people had not always received their medicines safely or as prescribed. Incidents were not always logged, followed up and learning was not always disseminated to staff. Incidents and concerns of potential abuse were not always escalated concerns to enable preventative action to be taken to ensure people were protected. Recruitment checks were not robust and consistently implemented and staff competency checks were not always robust. Training specific to some health conditions were not undertaken by staff. Quality assurance processes were not always effective and failed to identify the concerns we found at this inspection. Management oversight was not always effective.”

“Assessments of people’s needs were carried out before they joined the service, infection control procedures were considered and in place. The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. People told us staff were kind and caring and treated with respect and had access to different health care professionals when required. People said they could speak with the management team at any time and felt listed to. Staff felt listened to and supported by management.”