Archived: Annix Care

Updated 28 January 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 of Annix Care took place on 2 January 2015 and was announced. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be inspecting them. We did this because Annix Care is a small DCA and the registered manager is sometimes out of the office supporting people that use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be at their office on the day of our inspection. One inspector undertook the inspection.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (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. The PIR was not completed and returned to us. We discussed this with the registered manager prior to our visit to their office. They told us that they had not been aware of the request from us. Although the PIR was not returned to us, all of the information requested by us when we gave notice of our inspection was provided to us. We also reviewed information we received since the last inspection including a notification of safeguarding incident and a complaint that was shared with us. The provider is legally required to send us notifications about specific incidents. Annix Care met their responsibility in doing this.

During our inspection we went to the provider’s office location and spoke with five care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed the care records of three people that used the service, reviewed the records of four staff and records relating to the management of the service. We made phone calls to five people and their relatives that used the service and spoke with one healthcare professional from NHS Continuing Health Care who purchase palliative care services from Annix Care. Palliative care is care and support aimed to improve the quality of life of people facing the problem associated with life-threatening illnesses

Updated 28 January 2015

We undertook an announced inspection of Annix Care Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) on 2 January 2015. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be inspecting them. We did this because Annix Care is a small DCA and the registered manager is sometimes out of the office. Annix Care provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection nine people were receiving a personal care service. People had their care purchased by the NHS Continuing Health Care. NHS Continuing Health Care is the name given to a package of care which is arranged and funded by the NHS for individuals outside of hospital who have ongoing healthcare needs. Annix Care provides palliative care and support to people with terminal illnesses. Palliative care and support is an approach that aims to improve the quality of life of people facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness.

At our last inspection carried out on 24 January 2014 the provider was meeting the requirements of the regulations inspected.

All of the people and their relatives that we spoke with told us that they felt safe when staff from Annix Care visited them in their home. Staff that we spoke with told us that they thought people were safe using the services provided by the DCA. There were arrangements in place to protect people from the risk of harm because risks had been assessed and actions put in to place to reduce the risk of harm to people.

Where people had their prescribed medicines administered to them by DCA staff, their medicines were made available to them and appropriate records were kept.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) states what must be done to ensure the rights of people who may lack mental capacity to make decisions are protected. The MCA Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) requires providers to submit applications to the Court of Protection for authority to deprive someone of their liberty. Staff were aware of and had received training in the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The staff we spoke with knew the people that they visited and provided care and support to and their needs. Care plans were in place and described the tasks staff needed to undertake in line with the contracted services from Continuing Health Care. All of the people and their relatives spoken with told us that they liked the staff and felt their needs were met.

The provider had a safe system in place to recruit new staff and carried out necessary pre-employment checks. Staff received an induction and ongoing training and supervision so that they had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs. All of the staff we spoke with understood their job role and responsibilities.

At the time of this inspection a registered manager was in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. All of the staff spoken with told us that they felt the registered manager was accessible by telephone and approachable.

We found that effective systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of service people received.