Archived: Phoenix Healthcare & Recruitment

Updated 30 April 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 was planned to check 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 5 and 6 March 2015 and was announced.

The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. Staff are often out during the day and we needed to be sure that someone would be in to answer our questions and provide information. Phoenix healthcare provide domiciliary and nursing care to children and adults in their own home. At the time of our inspection they were providing care to 15 people.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector. Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are changes or events that occur at the service which the provider has a legal duty to inform us about. We spoke on the telephone to five relatives of people who use the service. We interviewed three staff and spoke with a further five staff on the telephone following the inspection.

We examined care documentation for four people and records related to staff recruitment, training, quality assurance audits and policies and procedures.

Updated 30 April 2015

This inspection took place on the 5 and 6 March 2015. At the last inspection on 29 July 2014 we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in how they provided care to people and how they supported staff to carry out their role. Improvements had been made in all areas.

At the time of this inspection the manager had been in post for six weeks and was in the process of applying to the commission to become the registered manager. 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.

The manager was aware of areas of the service that needed improvement and was working towards making those improvements.

People were protected from the risk of harm as staff had been trained to identify signs of abuse and knew how to respond to concerns. People’s relatives told us they felt safe using the service. Risks identified in the care planning process were recorded and staff were able to describe how they kept people safe. Where concerns were raised about the conduct of staff the provider took appropriate action to keep people safe.

People’s relatives told us staff were punctual and reliable. They turned up on time for visits and there were no missed calls. The provider was taking action to install a new computer system which will help them monitor the times of visits and the whereabouts of the staff.

People’s relatives told us and documentation showed people’s medicines were administered safely. They told us they trusted the staff who provided care as they had been trained to deal with the specific needs of each person. Care plans were kept up to date and communication was maintained between the office staff and the families to ensure any changes were recorded and appropriate action was taken.

We have made a recommendation about assessing people’s ability to make decisions about their care and giving consent. People with complex health needs were supported by trained staff in maintaining their food and fluid intake. Staff knew who needed specific support with regards to food and drinks, and the importance to people’s health and welfare. When changes occurred to people’s health staff knew how to respond appropriately.

People’s relatives told us staff treated the people they cared for with kindness and compassion. They told us they valued the staff and had a good relationship with them; they felt able to raise concerns or issues with the provider. People or their relatives were involved in the needs assessment completed before care commenced and in approving the final care plans and risk assessments. Care plans were monitored and updated when changes occurred. Staff spoke confidently about the needs of the people they were caring for and understood how to protect people’s dignity and privacy. They were also aware of how to support people to raise concerns or complaints.

People told us the service was well managed. People’s relatives told us the provider and the staff treated people with respect. They felt the person was cared for in a way that valued them as an individual. The manager was accessible to staff and had already implemented changes to increase staff motivation and to acknowledge the work they did.