Proactive Life South

Updated 14 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. People who use this service live in one ‘supported living’ house. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support only.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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. The service also had a nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We looked at the PIR and at all the information we had collected about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and information about important events the registered manager and others had sent us. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and the nominated individual. We looked at one person's care plan, monitoring records and medication sheets, all four staff recruitment files, staff training records and the staff supervision log. We reviewed a number of other documents relating to the management of the service. For example, management audits, incident records, concerns and compliments received and a selection of policies. We also looked at the recent quality audit survey, from April 2019, containing comments from the person using the service and two community professionals.

After the inspection

We spoke with and received feedback from a relative of one person who uses the service.

Updated 14 June 2019

About the service

Proactive Life (Berkshire) Med Care Home Services Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting two people living in a shared supported living house. Only one of those people received personal care from the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’, which is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. We do not inspect the premises people live in. Not everyone using Proactive Life (Berkshire) Med Care Home Services Limited receives personal care but where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service

People were protected from the risks of abuse and a relative thought their family member was safe with the staff providing their support and care. Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while working towards their goals and going about their lives.

People were treated with care and kindness. Staff used innovative ways to help people manage and reduce their anxieties. People were consulted about their support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. People were treated with respect and their dignity was upheld. This was confirmed by a relative who provided feedback. People's diverse needs were identified and met. People's right to confidentiality was protected.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. People received effective health care and support. Medicines were handled correctly and safely. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. They were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. Staff looked for ways to improve and enhance people's lives by exploring new activities and employment people could participate in.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. People benefitted from a service which had an open and inclusive culture and encouraged suggestions and ideas for improvement from people who use the service, their relatives and staff. A health care professional commented on a recent feedback form, "Support for [Name] is of a high standard. Thank you for your hard work and working tirelessly to support [Name] with their needs."

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

Rating at last inspection

This is the first inspection of the service.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service started to provide personal care to people.

Follow up

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