Archived: Proud to Care

Updated 16 December 2014

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?

The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report.

The inspection took place on 5 and 6 August 2014 and was undertaken by an adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service and contacted the commissioners of the service to obtain any information they held. We asked the provider to complete a provider information return which gave detailed information about the service. We also sent questionnaires to people using the service. This information was reviewed and used to assist with our inspection.

As part of our inspection we visited three people, with permission, in their own homes who were accompanied by a relative. We also visited one person, again with permission, at a place where they were undertaking a period of respite. We spoke via telephone with one person, and eleven relatives of people, using the service. We spoke with one social worker and two specialist nurses who had involvement with individual people who used, or were using, the service.

We spent time at the office and spoke with the manager and individually with five care and support workers. We reviewed records which included three care files of people we visited, staff files, meeting minutes, policies and procedures and other relevant documentation.

Updated 16 December 2014

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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

The inspection was announced. The service was last inspected on 4 November 2013 and was meeting the requirements of the regulations we checked at that time.

Proud to Care is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 21 people were receiving care and support from the service.

The provider of the service was also the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

The manager and staff understood the personalised needs of people who used the service and ensured that care was delivered to suit individual requirements. Staff used their initiative to look at alternative ways of providing appropriate support and responding to people’s changing needs. Reviews were undertaken periodically, and in response to changes, to ensure care was suitable and appropriate. People using the service and their relatives spoke highly about the care they received and said that staff respected their privacy and dignity.

People had the same core group of key workers and were introduced to any new staff who would be supporting them. People felt comfortable with their care workers and it was evident that trusting relationships had developed. People told us care workers turned up punctually and stayed for the scheduled amount of time. The service had a system in place to ensure that calls could be covered at short notice if required.

Staff received ongoing training and were encouraged to extend their knowledge and develop new skills. All received a detailed induction and fully understood their roles and responsibilities, as well as the values and ethos of the service. Staff had regular supervisions and appraisals and told us they felt fully supported by the registered manager and their other colleagues.

The service sought advice from other professionals and implemented this to improve their own knowledge and practice. External professionals we spoke with were positive about the service.

The registered manager assessed and monitored the quality of care and stayed in regular contact with people who used the service. The registered manager provided care also and encouraged feedback from people and relatives, which was used to make improvements to the service. Everyone we spoke with who used the service knew who the registered manager was and spoke highly of him, the staff and the service as a whole.