Primrose Healthcare Services Limited

Updated 10 July 2021

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector

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

This inspection was announced.

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.

Inspection activity started on 09 June 2021 and ended on 10 June 2021. We visited the office location on 09 June 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 six people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider who was also the registered manager and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and six medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection –

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at feedback from people, further recruitment records and quality assurance records.

Updated 10 July 2021

About the service

Primrose Healthcare Services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people with a variety of health care needs including people living with dementia. The service was providing care to 53 people at the time of inspection.

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

An electronic system had been implemented for recording, we saw that this was effective in monitoring the service but the registered manager needed to ensure this was kept up to date. Risks to people were assessed and care was planned to reduce risks to people.

People told us they felt safe and knew how to raise concerns if they had any. People were supported to take their medicines safely by appropriately trained staff. Good infection, prevention and control measures were in place to help staff keep people safe in their own homes.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and staff knew people well. The registered manager monitored calls and call times and to address any issues with late calls.

Care plans were completed and included information about people's needs, staff escalated any concerns to other healthcare professionals.

The registered manager was involved in people's care and sought regular feedback from people and their relatives. Staff felt supported and received appropriate training to carry out their roles.

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.

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 good (published 25 June 2019) and there was a breach of regulation. At this inspection enough improvement had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Primrose Care Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.