Archived: Actual Care Services

Updated 10 November 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 was planned to check 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.

This inspection took place on 24 October 2018 and was announced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service. The provider can often be out of the office supporting staff and we needed to ensure that someone would be in. We visited the office location to see the registered provider and office staff and to review care records and policies and procedures.

As part of the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

The provider did not meet the minimum requirement of completing and sending us the Provider Information Return (PIR) at least once annually. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with one person and two relatives by telephone. We also spoke with one health care professional, the registered provider, the manager, one senior carer and two care staff. We looked at the care records for three people to see how their care was planned. We also looked at two staff recruitment files, medication records, complaints and compliments and minutes of staff meetings.

Updated 10 November 2018

The inspection was announced and took place on 24 October 2018. At our last inspection in October 2017, we found the service to be ‘requires improvement’. At this inspection, we found that some improvements had been made and the service is now rated ‘good’. However, further improvements were still needed in relation to whether the service is well-led.

We gave the provider 48 hours of our intention to undertake the inspection. This was because the service provides domiciliary care to people in their own homes and we needed to make sure someone would be available at the office to speak to us. At the time of inspection, the provider was providing personal care and support to three people.

Actual Care Services is a domiciliary care service which is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The registered provider manages the service with care provided by a small team of staff. 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 the time of our inspection, three people were receiving care and support services.

The provider had not carried out sufficient checks and audits to ensure themselves that the quality of the service was consistently high. Staff had not completed all mandatory training as required by the provider.

People felt safe with the staff that were supporting them and reported that staff were consistently on time and not rushed. Staff understood about potential risks and types of abuse and knew how to report concerns.

Staff were recruited using processes that ensured they were suitable to work with people and records showed that people received their medication at the right time.

People were supported by staff who understood their needs and were knowledgeable and skilled. Staff received good support from managers and felt they were well trained to carry out their roles.

People’s health was promoted by preparing food that was in line with their preferences and by ensuring people had access to drinks.

People were involved in decision making and care planning and the provider ensured that people’s preferences were known and met. Staff were caring and respectful towards the people they were supporting and were motivated to provide a high quality service.

People and relatives had the opportunity to raise concerns and complaints and reported that the provider responded to their worries quickly and effectively. People were supported to attend activities and special occasions through the flexible allocation of staff.

People and relatives were very happy with the way the service was led and staff told us that they enjoyed working for the provider