ST PAUL CARE SUPPORT LTD

Updated 15 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the

quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

The inspection activity started on 24 and ended on 28 March 2023. We visited the location’s office on 24 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We checked the information we had about the service including any notifications they had sent us. A notification is information about incidents or events that providers are required to inform us about. We asked the local authority for information they had about the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office and spoke with the registered manager and the nominated individual. We reviewed records, including one person’s care plan and care records, two staff recruitment and training records and a variety of records and policies relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring and audits. Following our site visit we attempted to speak with one person using the service by telephone, but were unsuccessful. However, we did receive feedback from them at a later stage.

Updated 15 June 2023

About the service

ST PAUL CARE SUPPORT LTD is a domiciliary care service providing personal care support to people living within their own homes. The service was providing care and support to one person at the time of the inspection.

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

Risks to people were not always identified, assessed, and documented. Staff did not always have access to detailed risk management information to ensure the support they provided was safe and appropriate to meet individuals needs and the actions they should take to safely mitigate and manage risks. Staff recruitment practices were not always safe. Recruitment procedures were not established and operated effectively to ensure that persons employed met legal requirements.

Care plans and assessments did not comprehensively identify, assess and detail people’s physical, mental and emotional health needs and support, or the actions staff may need to take to support people safely and effectively. People's care was not consistently personalised as care plans did not always identify and or reflect individuals’ preferences, life histories, social networks, interests and hobbies, the way in which people wished to be supported or contain detailed information about their needs and wishes.

Systems in place for managing and administering people's medicines were not safe. The service did not have systems in place to work within the principles of the MCA. There was no formal training programme in place or a formal induction process for new staff. We have made recommendations to the provider for all of these areas.

Systems and processes for monitoring the quality and safety of the service were not implemented and or effective in identifying and addressing the issues and concerns we found at this inspection and for helping to drive service improvements.

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 12 January 2022, and this is the first inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to person-centred care, safe care and treatment, staff recruitment and good governance. We have also made several recommendations relating to the safe management of medicines, the Mental Capacity Act and staff training and induction.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standard of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.