Consultus Care And Nursing Ltd

Updated 20 February 2019

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 the 21 January 2019 and was announced. We gave the service four days’ notice of the inspection visit because we wanted to be sure that the registered manager and staff were available; we also required the registered manager to arrange home visits with people. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors, an assistant inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using this type of service. On the 21 January 2019 we visited the registered office, observed care and spoke with people in their own homes and contacted relatives of people using the agency.

We did not request a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the agency, what the agency does well and improvements they plan to make; instead we gathered this information during the inspection. We looked at notifications about important events that had taken place, which the provider is required to tell us by law and the previous inspection report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We gained the views seven relatives over the telephone. We visited three people in their own homes on 21 January 2019. Feedback was positive about the quality of care and support that people received. We spoke with six staff, which included two nurses, two care staff, the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We looked at the provider’s records. These included three people’s care records, which included care plans, risk assessments, daily care records and medicines records. We looked at documentation that related to staff management and recruitment including three staff files. We also looked at a sample of audits, minutes of meetings, satisfaction surveys and policies and procedures.

Updated 20 February 2019

The inspection took place on 21 January 2019 and was announced.

Consultus Care And Nursing Ltd domiciliary care agency providing live-in care to people. It is registered to provide nursing care and personal care to people in their own homes. The agency is registered to provide a service to older adults, people living with dementia, mental health, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and care at the end of their life. At the time of this inspection, 17 people received live-in nursing or personal care country-wide in England and Wales.

At our last inspection on 07 and 09 June 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection on 21 January 2019 we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good overall. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

There was a registered manager in post, who started in September 2018. 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.’

Medicines were managed safely. Action was taken to address any shortfalls that were identified. Nurse and care staff had been trained to administer people’s medicines.

People and their relatives felt safe with the nurses and care staff. Staff received training about safeguarding and understood their responsibilities to protect people from harm and abuse. Staff followed the provider’s policy and procedure; staff also accessed the local authorities protocol.

Potential risks to people, staff and others had been assessed and mitigated. People were protected from the prevention and control of infection.

There were enough staff with the right skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Nurses and care staff were recruited safely. Staff felt supported in their role by the management team.

People's needs were assessed prior to receiving live-in support from the agency. Care plans contained specific guidance for staff to follow regarding how to meet people's needs. People were supported to remain as healthy as possible with support from health care professionals. Staff supported people to maintain their nutrition and hydration.

People were involved in their care and staff sought people’s consent prior to any care tasks. People 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.

Staff knew people well and were aware of their likes, dislikes and personal histories. People were treated with dignity; respect and their privacy was maintained. Staff were kind, caring and promoted people's independence.

Care plans were person-centred and responsive to people’s needs. Some people that received care at the end of their lives were supported to have a pain-free death. People were supported to maintain contact with people that mattered to them.

People's views were sought and acted on to improve the agency. Systems were in place to enable people to make a complaint.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service people received. Lessons were learnt and action was taken when any shortfalls were identified.

Further information is in the detailed findings below