Prime Homecare

Updated 5 August 2022

The inspection

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service two working days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the director or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 July 2022 and ended on 19 July 2022. We visited the location's office on 11 July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the visit to the office we met and spoke with the director, registered manager and care co-ordinator. We reviewed a range of records which related to people's individual care and the running of the service. These records included a sample of people’s risk assessments and medicines administration records (MARs), four staff personnel records, policies and procedures relating to the management and quality monitoring of the service.

We spoke with four people who received care from the service and eight relatives to obtain their views on Prime Homecare. We also spoke with four care workers. We contacted social care professionals for their views of Prime Homecare and obtained feedback from three care professionals.

Updated 5 August 2022

About the service

Prime Homecare is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides care and support to people which include personal care, food preparation and medicines support. At the time of this inspection, the registered manager informed us that they were providing care and support to 42 people. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Improvements to medicines management systems had been made. Management had acted on previous concerns and implemented systems and processes to help ensure people received safe quality care. Appropriate medicines management and administration processes were in place.

Feedback indicated that people were satisfied with the care and services they received. People felt safe in the presence of care workers. They were complimentary about how the service was managed.

People were protected from abuse. Staff had received training on how to safeguard people.

People were supported by care workers they knew, who arrived on time and stayed their full allocated time. Recruitment processes ensured that care workers assessed as safe to work with people were employed.

Risks to people were assessed and managed, this helped the service deliver care in a safe way.

Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns were reported, investigated and recorded appropriately.

Suitable infection control practices helped to prevent and control the spread of infections including COVID-19.

Staff told us they were well supported by management. They were confident that management would listen and address any concerns if they raised them.

Quality checks monitored the care and support provided to people so that improvements to the service were made when deficiencies were identified. Management monitored aspects of the quality of the services through audits and checks.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 4 December 2020) and there was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.