About the service:

Verrolyne Services Limited provides personal care to people in their own homes. The service is based in Romford, Essex and 99 people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿People and their relatives were happy with the service they received. They and their relatives provided their consent to care. Most people told us they had regular care staff who arrived on time.

¿However, some people told us they were not always happy with the reliability of the service.

¿Safeguarding procedures were in place to protect people from abuse.

¿The care people received was safe. The provider had made improvements since our previous inspection in February 2018.

¿Risks to people had been identified and assessed to help manage these risks and keep people safe. The number of missed visits had reduced and people received an improved service.

¿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.

¿The provider had implemented quality assurance systems to ensure the service was operating effectively. The registered manager carried out regular audits and checks of records.

¿Further work was needed to improve some aspects of the service because we identified that communication between the provider, professionals and people who used the service required further improvement. We have made a recommendation about this. This would help to deliver a more consistent service to people.

¿People and relatives received support from staff who were kind and caring. People’s needs were met and their privacy and dignity was respected. Their independence was promoted by staff.

¿Care plans were person centred and people were supported to maintain their nutrition and hydration. They were supported to see health professionals and were prompted to take their medicines from staff who were trained.

¿People received care that was responsive to their needs and any complaints or concerns people had were investigated.

¿We made a recommendation about supporting staff to overcome language barriers with people.

¿Staff were supported and told us they had received training and supervision for their roles. Staff were recruited safely and received an induction prior to starting work.

¿The management team was committed to making improvements within the service. They learned lessons when things had gone wrong to minimise re-occurrence.

¿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 on 7 February 2018 the service was rated ‘Requires Improvement’. Our last report was published on 19 March 2018. We identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to safe care and treatment and good governance. We asked the provider for an action plan to tell us how they would make improvements.

Why we inspected:

¿This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the service at our last inspection. The inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check that improvements had been made.

Follow up:

¿We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. A further inspection will be planned for a future date.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 07 February 2018 and was announced. We last inspected this service on 18 December 2015 and we rated the service as ‘Good’. At this inspection, we rated the service ‘Requires Improvement’.

Verrolyne Services is based in Romford, Essex. This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults.

Not everyone using Verrolyne Services receives regulated activity; the CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection, 19 people were using the service, who received personal care. The provider employed 20 care staff.

The service had 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 care homes, 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.

At our inspection, we found people did not always receive safe care because scheduled visits from care staff were missed and some people did not receive the required support at the times they expected. This was as a result of staff running late or not knowing the correct schedule.

Specific risks to people were not always fully stipulated in risk assessments to help staff identify and mitigate the risks to ensure the safety of the person and the staff. Some people expressed concern that staff did not use moving and handling equipment safely.

This meant that the provider did not always assess, monitor and mitigate risks associated with the service to ensure people received safe care. The registered manager was committed to developing the service, although further improvements were required with quality assurance systems to ensure people received a safe service.

Complaints about the service were responded to appropriately and within the provider’s timescales as set out in their complaints procedures. We have made a recommendation on ensuring more effective communication between the provider and people who use the service because people told us staff did not always understand them.

The provider had sufficient numbers of staff available to provide care and support to people. Staff had been recruited following pre-employment checks such as criminal background checks, to ensure staff were safe to work with people.

Once recruited, staff received an induction, relevant training and were able to shadow experienced staff in order for them to carry out their roles effectively.

When required, staff prompted people to take their medicines and recorded this in daily logs. Staff had been trained on how to manage medicines safely.

The provider was compliant with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and staff understood the principles of the Act. Staff had received supervision and training in order to provide an effective service.

Staff told us that they received support and guidance from the registered manager and other senior staff. They received regular supervision and could approach the management team with any concerns they had.

People's care and support needs were assessed and reviewed regularly.

The provider worked with health professionals if there were concerns about people's health. People were registered with health care professionals, such as GPs and staff contacted them in emergencies.

People were supported to have their nutritional and hydration requirements met by staff, who provided them with meals and drinks of their choice, when this was requested.

People were listened to by staff and were involved in their care and support planning. They were treated with dignity and respect when person

Verrolyne Services Limited is a domiciliary care service based in Romford, Essex. The service is registered to provide personal care for people in their own home, within the county of Essex. At the time of our inspection, the service provided a service to 13 people, who received personal care and support. The inspection was carried out on 18 December 2015 and was the first comprehensive inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission in April 2014.

The service had 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 care homes, 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 were supported and cared for by staff who had an understanding of people’s needs and who demonstrated knowledge of safeguarding people from different types of potential abuse and how to respond. People had their individual risks assessed and had plans in place to manage them. Medicines were administered by staff that had received training to do this. The provider had procedures in place to check that people received their medicines as prescribed to effectively and safely meet their health needs.

Staff had been recruited following appropriate checks and the provider had arrangements in place to make sure that there was sufficient care workers to provide support to people in their own homes. People told us they received care from care workers who understood their preferences for care and support. However, some people had concerns about the consistency of care and the reliability of the service as there had been a number of staff changes and they were not receiving support from the same carers. We have made a recommendation about ensuring people are kept up to date with changes to their service.

People were listened to and were involved in making decisions about their care and support. Care workers were caring and supportive in the support they provided. Care workers provided support that ensured people were treated with privacy and dignity. People were supported by care workers to maintain their independence. People were encouraged to express their views and give feedback about their care. They told us that care workers listened to them and they felt confident they could raise any issues should the need arise and that action would be taken. Care workers felt supported by the registered manager and that the registered provider gave them opportunities to develop in their roles. The registered manager was committed to improving the service and developing new initiatives to support the care provided to people. The provider ensured regular checks were completed to monitor the quality of care that people received and look at where improvements could be made.

We carried out this inspection because we had received information that the service was not carrying out all the required checks on staff before they started to support people. We found that there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place and comprehensive checks were carried out before staff began work. We also found that people were cared for by staff who were supported by the service to deliver care and treatment to people safely and to an appropriate standard.