Background to this inspection
Updated
22 January 2020
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:
Prestige Nursing Limited Dartford is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support for people in their own homes.
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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We visited the office location on 17 December 2019. We carried out telephone calls to people, their relatives and care staff on 03 and 06 January 2020.
What we did:
We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse or when a person dies. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We contacted healthcare professionals for feedback. We received feedback from a local authority assessment officer and a senior continuing healthcare nurse. We took this information into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
During the inspection, we spoke with one person who used the service and three relatives. Majority of the people who used the service were unable to communicate with us. We also spoke with three care workers, office compliance assistant, coordinator and the registered manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records, risk assessments, daily records and health records. We also looked at four staff files including their recruitment, supervision and training records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, quality assurance records and a variety of policies and procedures implemented by the provider. We also looked at other records the provider kept, such as staff meetings minutes and surveys they completed to share their views.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received the staff meetings minutes, business improvement plan and surveys people and staff completed to share their views sent to us in a timely manner.
Updated
22 January 2020
About the service:
Prestige Nursing Limited Dartford is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support for people in their own homes. The agency provides care and support for people in the Dartford area of Kent, North West Kent and South East London. People receiving care and support includes children, young adults and elderly. At the time of our inspection, they were supporting 75 people. Although the service was registered for treatment of disease, disorder or injury, no one was receiving this service at the time we inspected.
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.
People’s experience of using this service:
People and relatives told us they were happy with the service provided by Prestige Nursing care staff. A relative said “It is a real life saving service for me.”
People received safe care and support from Prestige Nursing Limited Dartford. The registered manager and staff knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. Care plans contained detailed risk assessments. This mitigated any identified risks. Environmental risk assessments were also in place, which identified and reduced any environmental risks to people and staff.
People were supported to maintain good health, were supported with their medicines and had accessed healthcare services when needed. Where assessed, staff prepared food and drink to meet people’s dietary needs and requirements.
Staff were skilled in carrying out their role. The registered manager ensured staff were appropriately trained. A care staff said, “I completed three days company classroom-based training in addition to my NVQ qualification before I started in the field.”
People’s needs and preferences had been assessed prior to receiving a service. People’s care and support was planned in partnership with them and where appropriate with their family and healthcare professionals.
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 supported by regular reliable staff who knew them and their needs well, which promoted continuity of care. People made decisions about their care and these were documented in their care plan.
People were encouraged to raise any concerns they had or make suggestions to improve the service they received. People told us that staff communicated well with them and they felt at ease with them. Staff told us there was an open culture where they were kept informed about any changes to their role. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and listened to their ideas and suggestions.
The service had an effective system in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided at the time we inspected.
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 Good (published 04 December 2018). Since this rating was awarded the service has moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection.
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.