Archived: Astha Limited - Leeds

Updated 12 June 2018

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.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 18 April 2018 and ended on 26 April 2018. We visited the office location on 18 and 26 April 2018 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

The inspection was conducted by two inspectors. The service provides care for people mainly from the Punjabi community, and one of our inspectors was skilled in speaking Punjabi to ensure we could gather accurate feedback from people who use the service. We spoke to three people who use the service and three relatives of people who use the service by telephone. We also spoke with five staff, including the registered manager, care coordinator and care assistants. We also gathered evidence prior to our inspection; this included statutory notifications sent to us by the provider.

We reviewed six people’s care plans as well as other documents relevant to peoples care. For example, six people’s medicine administration records, the service’s complaints log and six staff recruitment files.

Updated 12 June 2018

The inspection took place on 18 and 26 April 2018, and was announced. At the last inspection in November 2016, we rated the service as requires improvement. We also found the service was in breach of Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act (2008) Regulated Activities (Regulations 2014). At this inspection we found the service had made the required improvements, but we identified further areas of improvement at this inspection.

Astha Limited - Leeds is a domiciliary care agency. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. The service primarily provides care for people from the Punjabi community. All staff had a knowledge of the specific cultural and religious needs of the Punjabi community and spoke Punjabi as well as English. The service was also able to provide care for people from different backgrounds as well. At the time of our inspection the service was providing services to 13 people. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults.

Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. 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.

People told us they felt safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs safely, and we found staff had been recruited safely. People told us staff were generally on time and communicative if they were delayed.

Medicines were managed safely overall. Staff were trained and provided clear guidance on how to administer different medicines. People told us medicines delivery was safe. However, the recording of self-administered medicines and why medicines were not administered were not always clear.

We have made a recommendation about the management of medicines records.

Risks to people were appropriately assessed and risk assessments were relevant to people’s environment and needs. Staff reduced the risk of infection by using personal protective equipment.

People told us staff were trained to meet their care needs, and staff were supported by the service through effective induction, training, supervision and appraisal.

People told us staff were kind, caring and compassionate. Staff told us how they respected people’s privacy and dignity, and the service demonstrated how it promoted people’s independence through its guidance for staff.

Care plans were written in a person centred way, with detailed guidelines for staff on how to care for people in a way they wanted to be cared for. Care plans were regularly reviewed or in response to a change in circumstances such as a deterioration of mobility.

People knew how to raise complaints through the service’s complaints policy and procedures. People told us that where they had raised issues, they were satisfied with the service’s response.