This inspection took place on 10 February 2016 and was announced. Laura Care Agency provides personal care to sixteen people who live in their own homes. Some people using the service were living with Dementia. This was the first inspection of this service since they were registered with the Commission in February 2015.
There was a registered manager 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.
People told us they felt safe whilst receiving support from staff. Staff were aware of the possible signs of abuse and could tell us about appropriate action they would take should they have any concerns.
People told us that they received support from a consistent staff team who knew their individual needs well. People were able to state the times of day they wished to receive support and gave examples of when they had been able to change support times to meet their needs.
Staff had received training in medication administration. We found that improvements were needed in the recording and monitoring of medication administration.
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) applied to some people using this service. While staff were aware of the need to offer people choices and seek consent in their care they had not received specific training in this legislation.
Staff told us they felt supported in their role and there were systems in place for staff to feedback concerns. Training was provided to staff. However, staff had not received training on some people’s health conditions.
People told us they felt cared for. People and their relatives were involved in planning their care to ensure they received care how they wished. Care was reviewed with the person. In some instances care plans had not been clearly updated following a change in a person’s needs. This meant that people may not receive care that reflected their most current needs.
People and their relatives were aware of how to raise concerns or complaints. Where concerns had been raised, relatives informed us that the provider had taken action to resolve the concern for the person.
People were happy with how the service was managed. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service although these systems were not always robust and had not consistently identified where improvements were needed.