Background to this inspection
Updated
23 February 2019
The Inspection ¿ 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 team ¿ Consisted of an adult social care inspector.
Service and service type ¿ This domiciliary service provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats.
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 ¿ This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 30 January 2019 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service to people who lived in the community. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises and speak with people.
What we did preparing for and carrying out this inspection ¿ Before our inspection we completed our planning; tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports.
We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the local contracts commissioning departments. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.
As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection visit we spoke with a range of people about Priority Plus, they included a relative of the person who received care, the registered manager and five staff members.
We looked at records relating to the management of the service. We did this to ensure the management team had oversight of the service and they could respond to any concerns highlighted or lead the agency in ongoing improvements. We also looked at staffing levels, training records and recruitment procedures for staff.
Updated
23 February 2019
What life is like for people using this service:
A relative told us they felt confident in the registered manager and the way Priority Plus operated. They told us good staffing levels afforded people responsive and dignified support.
The management team had safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. No new staff had been employed since their registration.
Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. One staff member said, “Yes we have had training you can only administer medicines if you have done appropriate courses.”
Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.
Care plan information focused on a person-centred method of supporting people. Also, information contained what support was required. We discussed with the registered manager to ensure consent to care documentation was more prominent in care records. This had been implemented following the inspection visit and more detailed documentation around consent to care was now in place.
A relative of one person supported by the service told us they were treated with respect and by caring staff. The relative told us staff were kind caring and respectful when visiting their home.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We discussed the principles of the MCA and consent with staff and found they had a good awareness in accordance with domiciliary services.
We found Priority Plus had systems in place to ensure they could meet people’s diverse and cultural needs. Care records we looked at evidenced people and where appropriate relatives were fully included in their support planning.
A relative we spoke with and staff told us told us there were enough staff on duty to ensure the person received support and enable them to care in a timely way. In addition, sufficient staff were deployed with specific skills so that the person was supported and cared for according to their needs. A relative said, “Very happy with the staffing arrangements.”
The registered manager and organisation used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included staff meetings, spot checks, auditing of the service and surveys to seek people’s views about the service provided.
The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice and people in their care were safe.
There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and their family when they commenced using the service.
More information is in Detailed Findings below.
Rating at last inspection:
Not rated.
About the service:
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to adults and children. At the time of the inspection one person received 24-hour care from the service. The office is based in Coventry. The service provides care and support varying from short visits to 24 hours a day support.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned first inspection of the service since their registration with CQC.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.