Baldev Skills Resources Limited

Updated 27 May 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 6 April 2022 and ended on 13 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 6 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager and three care staff. The registered manager was also the nominated individual, referred to as the ‘provider’ in this report. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and what actions they had taken in relation to feedback.

Updated 27 May 2022

About the service

Baldev Skills Resources Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care in people’s own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was providing care and support to two people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service was predominantly well run, and feedback we received confirmed people who used the service were happy with the care and support they received. The provider’s audit systems needed improving and not all aspects of service delivery were robustly monitored.

Relatives told us their family members received safe care from staff who were caring and kind. Some of the provider’s processes did not consistently promote safe care; we asked the registered manager to address these shortfalls. Staff were not always safely recruited. Medicines were mostly well-managed, and people received their medicines as prescribed. People’s medicine support plans lacked detail and records of administration were not always full and present. We have made a recommendation about the provider’s medicine management processes.

People’s health and safety risks were identified through assessment and measures put in place to reduce risk. Call schedules were organised, and staff consistently arrived on time. People received support from the same core group of staff, which promoted good continuity of care. Staff followed safe infection control practices.

People’s needs were not always identified. Although this placed people at an increased risk of not having their needs met, we found no evidence this had been detrimental to people’s actual care. Care plans were person-centred and relatives spoken with told us they were fully involved in decisions about care and support. The registered manager regularly reviewed people’s care, but discussions with relevant persons were not always captured as part of this process. The registered manager assured us action would be taken to address shortfalls with people’s assessments and care plans.

People were supported by staff who were competent and skilled. Staff were trained to administer people’s medicines safely and to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. Staff asked people for their consent before providing them with any care. People who used the service were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 September 2017, but they did not start providing care to people until November 2021. This is the service's first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration and the date 'regulated activity' started.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to recruitment, assessment of people’s needs and the provider's systems of governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.