Archived: Loyalcare Recruitment Agency

Updated 24 December 2016

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.

This inspection took place on 6 and 7 October 2016.

The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the service provides care and support to a small number of people and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to speak with us.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and the office manager. We looked at four records about people’s care and support. We reviewed records about staff, policies and procedures, meetings and service audits.

After the inspection we spoke with three people using the service or their representatives, three members of staff and four adult social care professionals.

Updated 24 December 2016

This inspection took place on 6 and 7 October 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the service provides domiciliary care and we needed to be sure the registered manager was available. This was the first inspection of the service.

Loyalcare Recruitment Agency is a care agency that provides care and support to five adults, with varying needs, in their homes.

The service has a registered manager. 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 felt safe and secure with this service. Staff had attended safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities. Risk assessments reflected people’s needs and supported staff to provide safe and appropriate care and support. There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs. Staff went through an appropriate recruitment process before being employed. People’s medicines were administered safely.

Staff received regular training and management support. Training included an induction process for new members of staff and refresher training for existing staff. Training, management supervisions and appraisals took place periodically. Staff had completed Mental Capacity Act training and the service was working within the principles of the Act. People who were able to do so consented to their care and support.

People and relatives told us staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. The service supported people to express their views and to be involved in planning their care and support. Staff respected people’s dignity and privacy and encouraged people to be as independent as they wanted to be. Staff encouraged and enabled people to make choices and respected people’s preferences.

The service was responsive to people’s needs. People’s needs were assessed before the service started providing care and support. Care and support plans were person centred and identified needs, goals and preferences. The service encouraged feedback from people and their representatives about their experiences of the service. The service had an appropriate system for dealing with complaints.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the registered manager. There were systems to obtain feedback from staff which included staff meetings. Any accidents or incidents were reviewed by the registered manager to identify and implement any learning or improvements. There were systems and processes to monitor and assess the quality of service provided. Records were accurate, up to date, accessible and fit for purpose.