22 March 2016
During a routine inspection
Primera Assisted Living is registered to provide personal care to adults who live in their own homes in the community. At the time of the inspection the service was being provided to one person who received personal care. The registered manager told us that currently the service did not plan to offer support to more people.
There is a registered manager in post who oversees services provided from the office. 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's needs had been assessed before they started to receive support from the service and people had been involved in developing and updating their care plans. We found the information contained in the care records was individualised and clearly identified people's needs and preferences. Risks people might experience with their care or environment was being managed.
We found people received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people's needs were identified and responded to.
People were supported by staff to take part in activities of their choice. People were able to plan their own meals and received support from staff with their meals in line with their care plan.
We found the service employed enough staff to meet the needs of the people being supported. The support provided was from a consistent group of staff who had been safely recruited. There were also ‘back up’ staff available who people had met previously should the regular staff be unavailable. so they could get to know them. People who used the service had no concerns about how the service was staffed.
Staff had been provided with structured training and regular refresher training to update their knowledge and skills. Staff had a clear understanding of the procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff were well supported and received an annual appraisal of their work performance.
People and staff knew how to make a complaint and felt confident that it would be dealt with well. People were encouraged to give their views about the quality of the care provided to help drive up standards. There were no formal quality monitoring systems in place. However the small size of the service meant that the quality was assured by the registered manager and regular informal meetings with people who use the service.