Archived: Whitestone Care

Whitestone Care is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 22 people were being supported with personal care. Many of them were in receipt of end of life care. The main office is based in Slough, people supported by the service lived within the local area and within an approximate 30 mile radius from the office.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about how they had been supported. Comments included “They [Staff] always have a smile on their face, they put me at ease, they are very gentle” and “I really look forward to them [Staff] coming, they do a good job.”

¿Comments from relatives included “I think my overall experience with them [Staff and company] has been very positive. Every single person [Staff] has been attentive, sensitive and respectful. They are a credit to the industry,” “At a time like this you need lovely people and they are lovely people, very respectful” and “They [Staff] make mum laugh and that means a lot to me, they always talk to her and make her feel valued.”

¿ People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. One person told us “They [Staff] are very respectful, all have been very nice, pleasant and very good.” Another person told us “I honestly cannot fault them [Staff], every carer is respectful and absolutely lovely.”

¿Providers and registered managers are required to notify us of certain incidents or events which have occurred during, or as a result of, the provision of care and support to people. One notifiable event is when an allegation of abuse had been made. We checked our records against other information we had received from local authorities. We had not been notified of two safeguarding events reported to the local authority. However, the provider had taken appropriate action to protect people.

¿Records relating to potential risks to people had not always been recorded. For instance, one person was an insulin dependent diabetic. No additional guidance was available to staff on recognising a possible deterioration in their condition. We have made a recommendation about this in the report.

¿Where people required support with their prescribed medicine this was detailed in their care plan. However, no additional guidance was available for staff on when and how they should administer medicines for occasional use (PRN). We have made a recommendation about this in the report.

¿Records relating to people’s care needs did not always reflect the most up to date information. However, communication with staff ensure people received effective and safe care.

¿Systems were in place to recruit staff through a robust process. The provider had invested into a training suite which was fully equipped so staff could receive hands on training.

¿The registered manager was passionate about providing a high-quality service to people at the end of their life. They told us “I pride myself in my practical skills…I want people to have a peaceful passage. You don’t get a second chance, so whatever I can do to support the staff to provide a dignified service, I will do.”

Rating at last inspection:

The previous inspection was carried out on 28 April 2016 (Published on 17 June 2016). The service was rated Good at the time.

Why we inspected:

The inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Inspections will be carried out to enable us to have an overview of the service, we will use information we receive to inform future inspections.

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

This was the first inspection of Whitestone Care. Whitestone Care was first registered with the Care Quality Commission on the 6 June 2012; however, it did not start actively providing a service to people until 13 April 2015.

Whitestone Care provides personal care services to people in their homes, who are suffering from a life limiting or terminal illness in order to improve their quality of life.

The service had a registered manager 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 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

Whitestone Care is in the first year of its operation and had gradually been building up its service user numbers over that time. The service was offering palliative care to people and both they and the commissioners of their care were very positive about the care experience. The judgements made are of the service as it was when inspected. The challenge for the provider and registered manager will be to maintain this standard as the service significantly expands over the coming year.

People were protected because there were risk management plans in place to promote their safety. Staffing numbers were suitable to keep people safe.

There were safe recruitment practices to ensure only suitable staff were employed. In line with their recruitment policy the service had taken steps to ensure two references were always obtained prior to new staff being employed.

Staff received appropriate training to support people with their care needs. People were matched with staff who were aware of their care needs.

If required people were supported by staff to access food and drink of their choice. Staff supported people to access healthcare services. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and had established positive and caring relationships with them.

People were able to express their views and to be involved in making decisions in relation to their care and support. Staff ensured people’s privacy and dignity were promoted.

People received care that was appropriate to meet their assessed needs. Their support plans were updated on a regular basis or when there was a change to their care needs.

The service had a complaints procedure. This enabled people to raise a complaint if the need arose. There was a culture of openness and inclusion at the service and staff felt that the leadership inspired them to deliver a quality service.

The service had quality assurance systems in place. These were used to improve on the quality of the care provided.

People benefitted from a service which was well-led, efficient and effective and had their best interests at the heart of its operation.