About the service:

Eleanor Nursing and Social Care - Redbridge Office provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our visit, they were providing personal care to 120 people.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us that they were happy with the care and support they received. They felt the service was managed well.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect the people in their care.

Individual risks to people had been assessed and recorded in their care plans to keep people safe. Incidents and accidents were documented and reviewed to prevent re-occurrence.

Staff received regular supervision and an annual appraisal. They received a structured induction and training to meet the needs of people they supported. Recruitment processes were safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs.

People’s needs had been assessed before they started using the service. Care plans reflected people’s needs and preferences. These were reviewed regularly.

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

Staff had a good knowledge of people they supported and respected their privacy and dignity. They promoted people’s independence.

Where people needed assistance taking their medicines, staff helped them accordingly. People were encouraged to have a balanced diet to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to health care services as needed.

People were aware who they would contact if they were not happy about the service they received. Any complaints were documented along with the actions taken.

The provider sought feedback about the care provided and monitored the service to ensure that care and support were provided in a safe and effective way to meet people’s needs.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (report published 23 November 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 13 October 2016 and was announced. The provider met all the regulations related to the areas we checked when we last inspected on 11 February 2014.

Eleanor Nursing and Social Care - Redbridge Office provides help and personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 220 people from three London boroughs, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, and Barking and Dagenham were receiving care and support from this service.

The service did not have a registered manager in post because they had resigned a few weeks before this inspection. However, the service was being managed by an acting manager who was yet to apply to register with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they received a safe service. They told us they never felt insecure because staff were kind and polite. People's care files contained risk assessments which identified possible risks and how to manage them. Staff were clear about risks to people and had training in adult safeguarding. This ensured that staff knew how to manage and report incidents.

The service had a robust staff recruitment system in place. All staff who worked at the service were appropriately checked and provided with training before they started work. We noted that there were enough skilled staff to deliver care and support. People and their relatives told us staff never let them down and always stayed for the whole time allocated to complete tasks.

Staff told us they received appropriate support and training. They said they had various training opportunities and regular supervision. We noted staff had training in Mental Capacity Act (2005) and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities to ensure people's privacy and treat them with respect and dignity. Records showed that refresher training courses were planned before they were due to expire. We saw the service had introduced a training room and equipment which was due to be used. This would make it easier for staff to attend training.

A complaints procedure was in place and information about this was provided to people who used the service. Feedback from people and relatives was obtained through spot checks and annual surveys. There was a clear management structure in place.

People we spoke with told us they were respected and well cared for. We found the service respected people using the service and checked with them how they liked things to be done. People were involved in making decisions about their care.

Care was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's safety and welfare. People we spoke with informed us they received a reliable and flexible service. One person said "our carer is very punctual." Another person told us they had requested a specific care worker and the agency had responded by providing this particular care worker whenever possible. People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse. There was a safeguarding policy in place for the protection of adults. All staff had attended training in safeguarding.

Staff received appropriate professional development. None of the people we spoke with had any concerns about the skills and competence of their care workers.

People had their comments and complaints listened to and acted on, without the fear they would be discriminated against for making a complaint. The service had effective systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of services people received.