Penkz Limited

Updated 23 March 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults and some younger adults. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

We visited the office location on 16 February 2021, to see the registered manager and office staff and to review care records, policies and procedures and other records associated with the running of the service.

What we did before the inspection:

We reviewed information we held about the service such as reports about the service from the local authority and statutory notifications. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection:

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, and the care co-ordinator. We looked at five care records, five staff records, training records, policies and procedures, audits, and other records needed for the running of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service, five relatives of people who used the service and seven care staff. We received feedback from three care professionals.

Updated 23 March 2021

Penkz Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The agency provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community in the London borough of Harrow. There were approximately 28 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

At the last inspection of 4 March 2020, we found breaches of Regulation 10 (Dignity and respect), Regulation 16 (Receiving and acting on complaints) and Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At this inspection we identified that improvements had been made to the benefit of people using the service and the service was no longer in breach.

People who used the service had been treated with dignity and respect. They and their relatives told us that they felt safe when attended to by care staff.

People had been protected from abuse. Care staff had received training on how to safeguard people and were aware of the procedure to follow if they suspected that people were subject to, or at risk of abuse.

People were protected from potential risks. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been assessed. Risk assessments contained guidance for staff on minimising risks to people.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Care staff had received medicines administration training and knew how to administer medicines safely.

Care staff were safely recruited, and essential pre-employment checks had been carried out. There were sufficient staff to enable the service to provide quality care.

People received person-centred care and care staff carried out their duties in accordance with agreed care plans. People had been consulted regarding the care provided and regular reviews of care had been carried out.

The service had arrangements for responding to complaints. People were aware of the complaints' procedure. The records indicated that complaints had been promptly responded to.

The service was well managed. Management monitored the quality of the services provided via checks and audits. These checks and audits were comprehensive, and deficiencies had been rectified. The service worked closely with health and social care professionals to meet the needs of people. There was a written action plan for improving the service.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for the service was Requires Improvement (published on 28 April 2020).

Why we inspected:

We undertook this focused inspection as we had concerns regarding the service, and we wanted to check that people were well cared for. The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received during and following the last inspection about the reliability of the service and the safety of people who used the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for the key question not looked at on this occasion was used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service is now Good.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Penkz Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.