Apex Prime Care - Newbury

Updated 26 September 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and was announced. An assistant inspector contacted the staff members. An expert by experience made telephone calls to interview people or their relatives. 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.

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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we looked at all the information we had collected about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people who use the service and one relative. In addition, we spoke with five members of the staff team. We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records. These included four people’s care plans, associated monitoring records, daily notes and medicine records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance, incidents and accidents, supervision, spot checks and observations, policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We looked at further training data and quality assurance records, meeting minutes and recruitment information for four staff members sent to us after the inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service and received one response.

Updated 26 September 2019

About the service

Apex Prime Care – Reading is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to people who have dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health, physical disability, sensory impairment, as well as older people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 84 people.

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

People were protected from the risks of abuse and said they felt safe with the staff providing their support and care. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these appropriately. Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while living as independent a life as possible. Where possible, the registered manager scheduled visits so the same staff went to see people to maintain continuity of care and support. People were informed about the changes to their visits as necessary. Medicines were handled correctly and safely.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were treated with care, respect, kindness and their dignity were upheld. This was confirmed by people and their relatives who provided feedback. People were consulted about their care and support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. People's diverse needs were identified and met and their right to confidentiality was protected.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. The registered manager and staff worked well together for the benefit of people and were focused on the needs of the people using the service.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. The registered manager encouraged feedback from people and families, which they used to make improvements to the service and protected people against the risks of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care and treatment.

The registered manager had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the service, the quality of the service being delivered and took actions promptly to address any issues. The registered manager praised the staff team for their hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 17 September 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.