Archived: Star Care

Updated 16 December 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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was carried out by 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 reviewed previous inspection reports and all other information we had received about the service, including notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

During our inspection we went to the Star Care office. We spoke with the registered manager, two senior managers and three staff members. After the inspection visit we undertook phone calls to 17 people and relatives who received care and support from the service.

We looked at five people’s care and support records and five staff files. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service such as incident and accident records, meeting minutes, recruitment and training records, policies, audits and complaints.

Updated 16 December 2016

We undertook an inspection of Star Care on 8 November 2016. The inspection was announced, which meant that the provider knew we would be visiting. This is because we wanted to ensure that the provider, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to support the inspection. When the service was last inspected in June 2014 no breaches of the Health and Social Care (Regulated Activities) Regulations were identified.

Star Care provides personal care and support to older people in their own homes in the Kingswood and Keynsham areas of Bristol. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people receiving personal care and support from Star Care.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our 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’s medicines were not always managed safely. The recording of medicines was not effective and systems were not in place to check medicines administration. Recruitment processes were in place but they were not consistently completed. Risk assessments identified potential risks to people but did not always give guidance to staff on how risks could be reduced.

The service was not always effective because staff had not received key training such as safeguarding, medicine awareness and the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. The training staff received was not always consistent. Staff had an induction when they joined the service and were supported through regular supervisions.

People spoke positively about the quality of care and support given by Star Care. Care was delivered on time and in accordance with people’s wishes. Staff were kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People had developed good relationships with care staff.

The service was not always responsive as care records did not give enough detail about people and how they wished to be supported. People had access to the complaints procedure and felt comfortable in raising any concerns. The service responded to people’s changing needs and were flexible in their approach. Feedback from people was gained about the service they received from Star Care which was very positive.

The service was not always well led as no audits were undertaken to monitor the quality of the service provided. In addition we found a safeguarding notification had not been sent to the Commission as required. People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. Staff felt supported and valued in their role. A positive team culture was in place which ensured person centred care was delivered. Staff were kept informed of any changes and regular meetings took place.

We found three breaches of the Health and Social care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. In addition, a breach of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 was also identified. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the end of the full version of this report.