Archived: PLL Care Services

Updated 13 July 2016

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 and 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 21 and 22 April 2016 and was announced. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). The provider had completed and submitted their PIR. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at previous inspection reports and notifications we had received. Services tell us about important events relating to the care they provide using a notification. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing potential areas of concern. We also spoke with the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams to seek their feedback.

We spoke with 15 people who were receiving care and support from PLL Care Services. We also contacted five relatives. In addition we spoke with four care workers and the registered manager. We looked at six people’s care records and at a range of records about how the service was managed. We also reviewed staff files for four individuals, including their recruitment, supervision, training records and the training matrix for all the staff employed by the service.

Updated 13 July 2016

We inspected PLL Care Services on 21 and 22 April 2016. PLL Care Services is a domiciliary care service which provides care and support for people who live in their own homes. At the time of our visit 34 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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.

At our last inspection on 4 February 2015 we found people did not always receive the support they needed to take their prescribed medicines. We also identified people were not always protected from inappropriate care and treatment as their care plans and risk assessments did not always reflect their needs or provide clear guidance to care staff. The registered manager did not have systems in place to ensure people's care plans were current and reflective of their need. We also found people and their relatives had mixed opinions on how the registered manager dealt with their concerns. Following our inspection we asked the provider to send us an action plan telling us how they would meet the regulations.

At this inspection we found some improvements had been made and the issues around complaints and medicines management were addressed by the provider. The care records were updated and the provider was in a process of reviewing these on regular basis. We however identified that whilst the management introduced some quality assurance processes these required further embedding so the improvements made could be sustained.

The registered manager planned further improvements to the service and was in the process of implementing these. The provider had systems in place to gain the views of people and the registered manager and the team were working to further enhance the quality of the service provided.

People told us they felt safe with the staff from PLL supporting them. People’s care records contained information about the risks identified and action required to manage these risks.

People were cared for by staff that were aware of what action to take to ensure people were protected if they suspected people were at risk of abuse. There were sufficient numbers of staff employed to provide care to people. Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure only staff who were suitable and of a good character were employed to work at the service.

People and relatives were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of the staff. Staff received training relevant to their roles and responsibilities and they received supervision.

People were supported by staff that were aware of the Mental Capacity Act and their responsibilities regarding it. People were supported to maintain good health and received support if required with accessing health care services.

Most people we spoke with were positive about the staff. They mostly told us staff were caring in their approach. However, feedback received from four people and one relative reflected a lack of consistency in the caring approach demonstrated by some staff. They said the staff did not engage well and there was little interaction during the visits. The registered manager took immediate action to remedy this in response to our feedback and informed us they were going to address this with the staff.

People’s privacy and dignity were respected and people’s private and confidential information was stored securely at the office. People’s care plans contained information about their needs and preferences and staff had a good knowledge of people’s needs and what mattered to them.