Archived: Rainbow Medical Services

Updated 7 August 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 25 June 2015 and was announced. We did this because senior staff are sometimes out of the office supporting care workers or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that senior staff would be available to speak with us on the day of our inspection. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

This full comprehensive inspection was undertaken to check that improvements to meet legal requirements planned by the provider following our previous comprehensive inspection on 10 July 2014 had taken place. We also checked other areas of care provided by the service.

Before the inspection we reviewed information about the service such as notifications they are required to submit to CQC.

During the inspection we went to the provider’s head office and spoke with the registered manager and head of quality monitoring. We reviewed the care records of eight people who used the service, and looked at the records of five staff and other records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with five care workers who were in the office on the day of the inspection.

After the inspection visit we undertook telephone calls to people that used the service and spoke with six people or their main carers. A relative and a person using the service also contacted us by email after the inspection to share their experiences. We contacted representatives from two Clinical Commissioning Groups and a nurse from a continuing care team who provides end of life care to get a view about the service provision.

Updated 7 August 2015

This inspection took place on 25 June 2015 and was announced. We told the service two days before our visit that we would be coming. At the last inspection of the service on 10 July 2014 we found the service was not meeting legal requirements in relation to understanding mental capacity, medicines administration, regular review and adequate quality assurance measures. The provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet the breaches of legal requirements.

We undertook this full comprehensive inspection to check that the provider had followed their improvement plan and to confirm that they now met the legal requirements. This report also covers other areas of care the service provides. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Rainbow Medical Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rainbow Medical Services provides care and support to approximately 50 people who live in London. The support provided ranges from personal care and help with washing and dressing to nursing care. Many people who receive a service from Rainbow Medical Services have complex health needs.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated regulations about how the service is run.

People told us the care they received from Rainbow Medical Services was safe. There were arrangements in place to make sure people received their medicines safely. There were infection control measures in place to make sure any risks of cross infection were minimised. Care workers knew what to do if they suspected people were at risk of harm and how to escalate any concerns they may have.

The service had identified risks to people and how these risks could be minimised. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed in order to reduce re-occurrences. There were systems in place for care workers to contact senior staff out of hours if there was an emergency.

Care workers received training and support to undertake their roles so it was in line with best practice. Care workers said they felt supported by senior managers.

People’s consent to care was sought by care workers prior to any support being offered. People were involved in making decisions about the support they needed and how they wished to be supported. As people’s needs changed, care plans were reviewed accordingly.

Care workers routinely monitored people’s health, which included ensuring people were getting enough to eat and drink. Where care workers identified any issues of concern, medical advice was sought.

The provider completed all recruitment checks to make sure that only suitable people were employed by the agency.

People told us care workers were kind and caring. Care workers respected people’s rights to privacy and dignity. People were encouraged wherever possible to do as much as they could for themselves. In this way people’s skills were maintained and they retained some control and choice.

The provider encouraged people, their relatives and other stakeholders to comment on the service they received. Complaints were dealt with effectively. In this way the registered manager had encouraged an open and transparent culture. Any shortfalls identified through regular audits were addressed and actions put in place to drive improvements in the service.