Eden Brook Home Care Providers is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people in their own homes. The organisation offers support to people living in Chelmsford and the surrounding area. At the time of our inspection there were 55 people using the service.

When we last inspected the service, it was rated requires improvement. At this inspection we found the service had made the necessary improvements and therefore it was now rated good.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associate Regulations about how the service is run. Whilst the registered manager took overall responsibility the care manager had responsibility for the day to day management of the service.

People were safe from abuse and bullying. Staff had knowledge of safeguarding and were aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns. The registered manager and care manager knew of their responsibilities regarding the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Risks were assessed and suitable control measures put in place, which still enabled people to maintain as much independence as possible. There were sufficient numbers of staff to ensure that people's needs were met and recruitment practices ensured that staff were of good character and suitable for their roles.

People were supported to take their medicines safely, if required. Systems were in place to record when medicines were given and were regularly audited to ensure there were no errors.

Staff received an induction and on-going training to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge to provide people with care in their own homes. Staff were well supported and had opportunities to discuss any concerns and training needs they might have.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were positive relationships between people and members of staff. Staff treated people with kindness and took the time to get to know them and their interests whilst providing their care. The service had involved people in producing their care plans to ensure that care was provided in the way they wanted it to be. In addition, people and their family members were provided with information about the service and what they could expect from them.

The care plans were detailed. Staff could describe how individual people preferred their care and support delivered and the importance of treating people with respect in their own homes.

The service worked in partnership with community professionals and local authorities to meet people's needs.

The provider had a system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received and identified and acted on areas for improvement.

We made a recommendation around the roles and responsibilities within the organisation.

Eden Brook Care Providers is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people in their own homes. The organisation offers support to people living in

Chelmsford and the surrounding area. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people using the service.

The service was last inspected in 2015 and was rated good.

We have made a recommendation about safeguarding in that staff need to be given details of external agencies to contact.

We have made a recommendation about staff training in that staff competencies need to be carried out.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associate Regulations about how the service is run. Whilst the registered manager took overall responsibility the care manager took responsibility for the day to day management of the service.

People were safe and staff knew what actions to take to protect them from abuse. However, none of the staff we spoke with were aware of what external organisations to contact if they had concerns . The provider had processes in place to identify and manage risk.

People received care from a consistent staff team who felt well supported and trained. However, competency assessments had not been carried out of staffs practice. Therefore people could not always be confident about the skills and competence of the staff.

Care staff understood the need to obtain consent when providing care.

The systems in place to support people to take their prescribed medicines safely needed some improvements.

People were supported with meals and to make choices about the food and drink they received. Staff supported people to maintain good health and access health care professionals when needed.

Assessments had been carried out and personalised care plans were in place which reflected individual needs and preferences. The provider had an effective complaints procedure and people had confidence that concerns would be investigated and addressed.

The service benefitted from a clear management structure and visible leadership. However, audits carried out needed to be more robust in order to monitor the quality of the service and drive improvements.

The inspection took place on 11 November 2015

Eden Brook Care Providers is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to people in their own homes. The organisation offers support to people living in Chelmsford and the surrounding area. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associate Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe and staff knew what actions to take to protect them from abuse. The provider had processes in place to identify and manage risk.

People received care from a consistent staff team who were well supported and trained.

Care staff understood the need to obtain consent when providing care.

The provider had systems in place to support people to take their prescribed medicines safely.

People were supported with meals and to make choices about the food and drink they received. Staff supported people to maintain good health and access health care professionals when needed.

Assessments had been carried out and personalised care plans were in place which reflected individual needs and preferences. The provider had an effective complaints procedure and people had confidence that concerns would be investigated and addressed.

The service benefitted from a clear management structure and visible leadership. A range of systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered and drive improvement.

At our last inspection on 27 September 2013, we had moderate concerns in relation to the lack of appropriate arrangements in place to deal with care and welfare of people who use services, safeguarding and safety, supporting workers and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.

The purpose of this visit was to check that improvements had been made.

During this inspection we spoke with two people. These were the provider and one of the managers.

We found that the provider had made improvements in all areas in relation to care and welfare of people who use services, safeguarding and safety. The provider had developed new care plans and training had been given to all staff regarding safeguarding.

To cover assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision the provider had commenced a robust audit trail. This monitored the service in several areas including care plan records, client and staff surveys and environmental risk assessments in people’s homes.

We saw documentation and spoke with staff relating to supporting workers, and assessing the quality of service. We found that the provider was complying with all regulations that had been inspected.

During our inspection we spoke with the manager, care workers and four people who used Eden Brook Home care services

People we spoke with told us they were given choices as to what they needed care staff to do for them. They said that they were asked about their care and staff ensured people were provided with their choices.

Comments from people included: "They call here every day and do everything they even take time for a friendly chat"; “Staff are reliable and show a good understanding of my needs.” One person also told us that they felt at ease with staff and knew that they would look after them properly. However the information in peoples care plans was limited and did not identify the level of care and support required. The care plans held no evidence to show if they had been monitored or reviewed with the person using the service.

People we spoke with said they felt fully supported by the care staff. One person told us that the service was wonderful. Staff files we viewed had no evidence to show that staff who worked at the service had received any training while employed by Eden Brook Home Care.

Comments from people included: “They’re very experienced staff they know just what my X needs.” and: “Staff are kind and caring and come and go at the right times.” However staff told us that they did not receive regular training, supervision or support.

The manager told us that the quality of the service had not been monitored by routine audits. There were no processes or systems in place to seek the views of people who used the service and those who acted on their behalf.