Archived: Strand Nurses Bureau

Updated 24 June 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 23 May 2017 and was conducted by one inspector. The inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we wanted to be sure that someone would be available.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We contacted a member of the local authority to obtain their views about the service.

We spoke with one relative of a person using the service and three people using the service. During our visit we spoke with the registered manager, another senior member of staff and also spoke with eight care workers and two nurses after our visit over the telephone. We also looked at a sample of four people’s care records, 15 staff records and records related to the management of the service.

Updated 24 June 2017

We conducted an announced inspection of Strand Nurses Bureau on 23 May 2017. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice to ensure the key people we needed to speak with were available. At our last comprehensive inspection on 27, 28 and 31 July 2015 we found the provider was meeting the regulations.

Strand Nurses Bureau is a domiciliary care service which provides nursing care and personal care services to people living in their own homes. There were 25 adults and eight children using the service when we visited.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Risk assessments and care plans contained detailed information for care staff. All records were reviewed within six months or sooner if people’s needs changed.

Care staff assisted people to take their medicines safely. Care workers and nurses told us they had completed medicines administration training and understood how to safely administer medicines.

Safeguarding adults and children from abuse procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people they supported. Staff had received safeguarding adults and children training and were able to explain the possible signs of abuse as well as the correct procedure to follow if they had concerns.

Staff demonstrated a good level of knowledge about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People signed their care records to indicate that they consented to their care and mental capacity assessments were conducted prior to providing care.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of people’s life histories and current circumstances and supported people to meet their individual needs in a caring way. Care records contained detailed information about people’s needs and preferences.

Recruitment procedures ensured that only staff who were suitable, worked within the service. There was an induction programme which included shadowing for new staff, which prepared them for their role.

Care workers were provided with appropriate training to help them carry out their duties. Care workers received regular supervision and appraisals of their performance. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs and visits were appropriately arranged to ensure people’s needs were met.

Care workers supported people to maintain a balanced nutritious diet and care records documented this. People were supported effectively with their health needs, when needed and were supported to access a range of healthcare professionals.

People, their relatives and staff gave positive feedback about the registered manager and told us they provided feedback about the service. They knew how to make complaints and told us they felt listened to. There was a complaints policy and procedure in place.

The organisation had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager reviewed various areas of the service on a regular basis and further, regular auditing was conducted by nurse assessors within the organisation. Information was reported to the CQC as required.