Ace 24

Updated 5 October 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

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

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 they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. In this service, the provider was also the registered manager.

Notice of inspection

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

Inspection activity started on 17 August 2019 and ended on 6 September 2019. We visited the office location on 19 August 2019.

What we did before inspection

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 four people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider/registered manager, care co-ordinator and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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 training data and quality assurance records. We received an email response from one professional.

Updated 5 October 2019

About the service

Ace 24 Consultancy Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. It is a new service with plans for growth and development. At the time of inspection there were 19 people using the service.

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

People appreciated receiving care from regular staff who were kind and respectful. One relative told us, “The staff are good, we are very happy with them.” Others said, “Staff are trained and skilled.” And another commented, “They [staff[ are always very polite and pleasant.”

People and relatives told us that if they had any concerns they were confident to tell the registered manager or care co-ordinator, and it would be dealt with appropriately. People told us if they rang the main office, their call was always answered.

People were referred to health and social care professionals as required. Feedback from one health and social care professional confirmed communication with the service was good.

Safe staff recruitment was followed, and staff had received training from appropriately qualified trainers. Staff wore uniform and carried photographic identification, so people were confident in who was attending. Where people requested staff not to wear uniform, staff wore appropriate clothing to carry out their work safely.

Staff told us they felt supported by the management team and there was always someone on call for advice if required. The registered manager and care co-ordinator were hands-on and worked alongside staff leading by example and providing oversight of the service. However, these observational supervisions of staff were not always recorded.

We have made a recommendation the registered manager seeks best practice in the developing, formalising and recording of staff supervisions and meetings.

The provider was also the registered manager and had oversight of the service. Either the registered manager or the care co-ordinator visited people for spot checks to ensure the quality of the service provided by staff was maintained. This additionally provided people with an opportunity to speak about their experience of the service directly to management.

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 support this practice.

Care plans were person-centred and appropriate risk assessments were carried out to ensure their care needs were met. Medicine administration records showed people were assisted to take their medicines as prescribed. Infection control procedures were followed and staff had enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to carry out their work safely.

This service was registered with us on 7 August 2018 and this is the first inspection

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