Priory Care Services, Kingston

Updated 25 January 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We requested feedback from the local authority. We looked at information sent to us since the service registered such as notifications about accidents, incidents and safeguarding alerts. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office and spoke with the registered manager and 1 senior member of staff. We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 2 relatives or friends by phone.

We looked at records related to people’s care and the management of the service. We viewed 3 people’s care records, their medication records and 3 staff recruitment and induction files. We also looked at rotas, training and supervision information, and records used to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

We received written feedback by email from 2 staff and 7 health and social care professionals following our visit.

Updated 25 January 2023

About the service

Priory Care Services, Kingston is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 29 people were using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Feedback from people and their relatives was uniformly positive. People were cared for safely by staff who were trained and had the skills and knowledge to manage risks to people’s safety and wellbeing. Staff were safely recruited and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs as planned.

Staff administered people’s medicines as prescribed and followed infection prevention and control processes. Staff monitored people’s wellbeing and made referrals and followed advice from relevant professionals.

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

Staff supported people in a person-centred way and care was tailored to people’s individual needs and routines. Staff knew people well and their privacy and dignity were maintained. People’s rights were upheld and equality and diversity was positively embedded in the service.

The service was well-led with the registered manager promoting a positive culture and effective working relationships within the team and with relevant professionals. The registered manager clearly valued and supported their staff professionally and personally.

Health and social care professionals told us that the service was reliable, well-led and always communicated well with them.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us in August 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.