Archived: Abicare Services Ltd

Updated 2 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 24 October 2014 and was announced. The provider was given a 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure somebody would be available at the agency office.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert-by-Experience (ExE). An Expert-by-Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who needs to be provided with this type of care service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. Before our inspection, we reviewed the information in the PIR along with the information we held about the agency, which included incident notifications they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

During our inspection we spoke with ten people who use the service, one relative, four care staff members and the registered manager. We looked at records including care records for five people, recruitment and training records for five members of staff. We checked the staff-related documentation to see if recruitment, training and support for staff were sufficient for them to provide good quality care. We also looked at other records relating to the monitoring of the quality of the service including complaints and audits completed by the provider.

Updated 2 December 2016

We inspected Abicare Services Ltd on 24 October 2016. It was a full comprehensive inspection which was also carried out as a follow-up to our previous visit in October 2015.AbicareServices Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 42 people were receiving care and support from the service.

We had found four breaches of the regulations at our previous inspection in October 2015. At this inspection we aimed to see what measures had been taken to ensure the quality of the service had improved and check if these measures had been effective. The provider had told us that all the corrective actions specified in their action plans would have been implemented by the end of January 2016. During our inspection on 24 October 2016 we found that all the recommended actions had been completed.

There was a registered manager in post at 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.

Most aspects of safe recruitment practices, such as police identity and character checks, were in place. However, the provider had failed to gather full employment history of all of their prospective staff members. We brought it to the attention of the registered manager who addressed the issue immediately by updating staff files during the course of our inspection. Following our inspection, the provider sent us scans of updated staff files.

At this inspection we found that arrangements were in place to monitor staff attendance at work and to minimise the number of missed calls. Most of the people told us that staff had been available to attend a call and to provide care to people at the agreed time. A person told us, “Staff come more or less on time”.

People we spoke with told us that they felt safe when staff supported them in their homes and that staff knew how to support them. Staff were able to tell us about the needs of the people they provided care for and their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe. People had risk assessments in place to keep them safe whilst enabling them to be as independent as possible.

People’s prescribed medicines were safely managed by staff. Relevant systems and protocols in place ensured people received their medicines as prescribed. Staff’s competence was reviewed regularly to ensure that the medicines were administered safely.

Staff received an induction to their work, close supervision, on-going training and ongoing support from senior staff and agency management.

The registered manager and staff had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They were knowledgeable about protecting legal rights of people who did not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. The service acted in accordance with legal requirements to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

People were provided with sufficient amounts of food and drink, with all recommendations from health care professionals being followed. People were supported by staff to access a range of health care services which ensured their health was monitored and maintained.

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s support needs and care plans were developed outlining how these needs were to be met. We found that care plans were detailed, which enabled staff to provide the individualised care people needed. People told us they were involved in developing their care plans. They were also consulted about the way their care was delivered to ensure their wishes and preferences were met. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s backgrounds, life histories, preferences and routines.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included satisfaction surveys, spot checks and internal audits. We found that most of people were satisfied with the care and support they received.

The staff were pleased to work for the provider and felt supported in their role. The provider promoted an open culture where both staff and people using the service could raise concerns without fear of being frowned upon. People knew how to complain and felt their complaints would be investigated and responded to.