Ten90 Recruitment Group - Midlands Limited

Advanced Personnel Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting three people, all of whom received personal care.

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

Relatives told us that staff cared for people safely and knew their needs and preferences well. Systems and processes were in place to ensure people were protected from avoidable harm, and staff understood what signs to look for that harm may be occurring and how to report their concerns.

Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and guidance was in place for staff about how to support people safely.

Measures were in place to manage the risks of COVID-19 including policies and risk assessments. Staff told us they had access to sufficient PPE and had received training on how to keep themselves and others safe from the risks of COVID-19.

Where people were supported to take their medicines, processes were in place to ensure this was done safely. Staff were trained and had their competency checked before administering medicines.

Improvements to recruitment practices had been made and appropriate checks were made to ensure, as far as possible, only suitable staff were employed.

People 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.

Relatives told us that staff appeared to be well trained and had the skills and knowledge to provide effective care. Staff confirmed they received training of a good quality and felt supported by the registered manager and the provider.

The service worked well with other health and social care providers to ensure people received appropriate care.

The registered manager and the provider had made improvements and there was now strong systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and identify areas for improvement.

The registered manager sought the views of people who used the service, their relatives and staff and took action to address any concerns that arose. There was an open culture at the service which encouraged learning and continuous improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 03 September 2019) and there were two breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 14 August 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements, and Effective which was previously rated Requires Improvement.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Advanced Personnel on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People and their relatives spoke positively of the staff and the manager at Advanced Personnel. One person said, “I could not speak more highly of these people [staff and manager] for what they have done for me.” One person’s relative said, “I have nothing but praise for them [staff]. They are an extra pair of hands, I couldn’t manage without them. They [staff] come on time and often run over, there is no extra charge.”

The provider (owner) and the manager had not created strong systems to promote people’s safety in terms of the recruitment of suitable staff. The provider had also not created systems to test the quality of care provided. They had asked an employee to manage the service on a temporary basis. The manager had identified shortfalls in the service. But the provider had not put effective systems in place to sustain the improvements the manager was intending to make to support the management of the service in the future.

People 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; but the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice.

People said they felt safe with the staff who supported them. People had risk assessments and plans in place to promote their safety. Staff knew what they must do if they had concerns about a person’s safety or if they had suspicions of potential abuse.

Staff received inductions which they said prepared them for their roles. The manager completed checks to establish if staff were competent in all areas of their work. Staff had a good knowledge about people’s needs and how to promote their health and well-being.

People and relatives spoke well of the support and assistance staff offered to people in providing meals and drinks.The manager had checks in place to ensure staff were promoting people’s hydration in order to keep them healthy.

Staff were kind and caring. People felt connected to the staff who supported them. People told us that staff respected their homes and treated them with respect.

People had detailed care assessments to identify their preferences in relation to their daily care. People received care visits at the times they requested, and they saw a regular group of staff. Staff told us that they knew people well, and they had enough time to meet people’s needs and spend time with them.

There was a positive culture among the staff team and the day to day management of the service.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 01/05/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was planned inspection following the service being registered.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.