Archived: PA Care Agency

Updated 24 May 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.

The inspection took place on 20 April 2016 and was announced. This was because the location provides domiciliary care services. We wanted to make sure the manager would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before we visited we looked at notifications we had received. Services tell us about important events relating to the care they provide using a notification. We reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR) from the service. 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.

During our inspection we went to the service’s office and spoke with the registered manager. We looked at documents relating to people’s care and support and the management of the service. We reviewed a range of records which included five care and support plans, staff training records, staff personnel files, policies and procedures and quality monitoring documents.

We spoke on the telephone with four people who used the service and two relatives about their views on the quality of the care and support being provided. We spoke with the registered manager and five staff members.

Updated 24 May 2016

PA Care agency is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The registered manager explained that the support hours provided varied depending on the person’s needs. Flexible support was offered 24 hours a day for seven days a week. At the time of our inspection 13 people were using the service.

This inspection took place on the 20 April 2016 and was announced, which meant the provider knew before the inspection we would be visiting. This was because the location provides domiciliary care services. We wanted to make sure the manager would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf.

A registered manager was employed by the service. 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 was available for the all of the inspection.

People using the service and their relatives said they valued the relationships they had with staff and were satisfied with the care they or their family member received. People were supported to have a say in how their care was delivered.

Staff were aware of the types of abuse people may be at risk of and the actions to take if they suspected someone was at risk of harm. Staff were aware of their responsibility to report any concerns they had about people’s safety and welfare.

People received their care at the correct time and had support given by the same members of staff to ensure consistency of care.

There were enough staff deployed to fully meet people’s health and social care needs. Appropriate recruitment processes were in place to reduce the risk of unsuitable staff being employed by the service. Staff received training and support from management to ensure they had the right knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

Systems were in place to ensure people were given their medication in a safe way.

People told us staff sought their consent before providing any care or support. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and knew how to support people to make their own decisions.

People’s needs were assessed and care plans developed to identify the care and support people required. People and their relatives told us they were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and support and that when they required changes to be made, this was actioned by staff or the registered manager.

People and their relatives told us they knew how to raise any concerns or make complaints should the need arise. The registered manager sought feedback from people to ensure the quality of care was maintained.

People, relatives and staff all spoke positively about the management of the service. Staff felt supported and confident in raising concerns and felt the registered manager would act on these.

Staff working in the service had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons to help prevent cross contamination and promote infection control.