Estio Healthcare Recruitment is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection they were providing this service to one person.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The person who used the service and their relative were very happy with the care and support provided. They praised the staff who they described as ‘brilliant’ and ‘absolutely fantastic’. The person and relative told us they had a say in making any decisions about the care and felt their views were listened to. They had no concerns but knew how to raise a complaint if they needed to and felt any issues they raised would be addressed.

Care records reflected the person’s needs and preferences and showed how risks were managed. Daily logs showed staff provided the care and support the person required.

Staff recruitment procedures ensured staff were suitable to work in the care service. Staffing levels were sufficient and flexible to meet the person’s needs. Staff received the training and support they required to carry out their roles and meet people’s needs.

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.

Staff understood safeguarding procedures and how to report any concerns. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff supported people to access healthcare services. Staff supported people to lead active lives of their choosing and to keep in contact with family and friends.

Staff knew the person they were supporting very well and had developed a positive relationship with them. In our conversations with staff they displayed compassion, consideration and respect for people.

The service was well-led and well managed. Effective quality audit systems were in place.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

Estio Healthcare is registered to provide care and support to people living in their own homes. The service is managed from spacious office premises close to Halifax town centre. At the present time the agency only provides care, support and companionship to people who require a minimum of three hours support every visit. The agency operates a 24 hour service and night cover can be provided by staff either sleeping-in overnight or on a “waking night” basis.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The registered manager told us sufficient care staff were employed for operational purposes and the agency only employed staff who had previous experience of working in the caring profession. The staff training matrix was up to date and we saw one to one supervision meetings took place to support staff to carry out their roles effectively.

The staff we spoke with were able to describe how individual people preferred their care and support to be delivered and the importance of treating people with respect in their own homes. The relatives of people who used the service told us staff were reliable, kind and caring and always provided care and support in line with the support plan in place.

The support plans we looked at were person centred and were reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they provided accurate and up to date information. The staff we spoke with told us they used the support plans as working documents and they provided sufficient information to enable them to carry out their role effectively and in people's best interest.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received.

There was a quality assurance monitoring system in place that was designed to continually monitor and identify shortfalls in service provision. Audit results were analysed for themes and trends and there was evidence learning from incidents took place and appropriate changes were made to procedures or work practices if required.

During our inspection we spoke with the manager and four staff. We also spoke with four relatives of people using the service.

Relatives of people who used the service were positive, comments included:

“The staff manage X really, I can’t fault the care.”

“We can place our trust in them.”

We looked at five records for people using the service. The care records showed that people who used the service, or their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process. We saw that each record included details of their medical history, personal preferences, likes and dislikes.

We saw that there were infection prevention and control policies and procedures in place.

We looked at four sets of staff records and found that effective recruitment and selection processes were in place.

Documentation also showed an effective system for auditing the quality of service.

This was a scheduled inspection of Estio Healthcare Recruitment. As part of the inspection we visited their office to meet with the Registered Manager and to look at records.

The Registered Manager told us that Estio is now supplying personal care to only a very small number of people in their own homes.

We looked at care records for two people who are receiving care and saw recently completed satisfaction surveys about the service. These included the following comments:

The care worker "Shows respect and goes the extra mile"

Staff are "Punctual, polite and very pleasant" Have made the person "feel safe and comfortable"

"Really happy, no complaints"

"Totally happy, no other comments"

We also spoke with a member of staff who told us that they feel very well supported and have received the training they need to do their job well.

We did not speak to people who use the service on this occasion