14 October 2015 & 03 November 2015
During a routine inspection
This announced inspection took place 14 October 2015 & 03 November 2015.
1st for Care (GB) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency which provides care and support to people with complex care needs to people living in their own home. 1st for Care (GB) Ltd offers a service nationally but has its office base in Lancaster. At the time of the inspection 1st for Care (GB) Ltd was providing domiciliary care to three people. The registered provider had one permanent member of staff employed and three casual staff.
There was a registered manager in place. 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 service was registered with the Care Quality Commission in June 2014. This was the first inspection of the service.
At this inspection, feedback from people who used the service and relatives was positive. Both parties agreed that the quality of service provision was good. We were informed staff were reliable and always attended the scheduled shifts.
Staffing was flexible and responsive to people’s needs. When changes to support times were requested the registered provider consistently endeavoured to meet the new requests.
However, we identified risks to people who used the service was not always appropriately addressed and managed. Not all of the people who received a service had a detailed care plan or risk assessment which covered their support needs and personal wishes.
Risk assessments that were in place did not address all areas of need and information in risk assessments was not always accurate.
Staff were positive about their work and confirmed they were supported by the registered provider. Staff said there was a positive culture within the service and staff views were respected.
Communication systems were in place between the registered provider and registered manager to keep the registered manager up to date. However the registered manager was not fully aware of all people’s needs and support requirements. The overall management of the service was being overseen by the nominated individual.
We identified breaches to Regulations 17 & 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014; (Good governance and Fit and proper persons employed.) You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.