Archived: Premier Care Lancaster Branch

Premier care Lancaster Branch, provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the Lancaster and South Ribble areas. 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. At the time of inspection there were 120 people receiving a service and approximately 80 people receiving personal care.

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

People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm, by staff who understood and followed the provider's policies and procedures. People received safe care from suitably employed and trained staff. People told us they felt safe as a result of the care they received. People received their medicines as prescribed from staff who were trained and competent in medicine administration.

People received consistent care because the provider and registered manager had good oversight of the quality of care and care records. People found staff and managers in the office to be approachable and committed to addressing any concerns they raised. People had been encouraged to give their feedback about their experiences of the service. The most recent analysis showed the majority of people had been satisfied with the service provided.

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 requires improvement. (Published 4 March 2020). There were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 4 March 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and governance.

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 changed from Requires improvement to Good. 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 Premier Care Lancaster Branch on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Premier Care is a domestic care agency providing help and support to people with varying needs in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 108 people with personal care. 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 and what we found

The service was not always safe. People did not always have risks to their personal safety identified and recorded. When they had been identified, control measures were not always in place or were not adequate to mitigate the risk. Staff were able to tell us about the risks to people and knew how support people to minimise the risks. People's medicines were not always managed safely. We found inconsistencies in peoples Medicines Administration Records (MARs).

The service was not always well led. At this inspection we identified issues with the provider's quality and assurance systems. Some records relating to care and the management of the service were either incomplete, inaccurate and/or not kept up to date. This compromised the quality and safety of the service provided.

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. We found that documentation was not always fully completed. We have made a recommendation around this.

Care documentation did not always contain peoples wishes and preferences. We have made a recommendation about this. People told us they had no concerns or complaints about the service. Staff had received training in end of life care.

The service was caring. People told us they were happy with their care and staff treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. One person said, “I can’t fault the staff they are helpful and happy.” Staff were aware of how to protect people’s privacy and dignity and people told us that the staff did this well.

There was a positive staff culture. We found the management team receptive to feedback and keen to improve the service. The registered manager worked with us in a positive manner and provided all the information we requested.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 05 February 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection schedule for newly registered services.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and need for consent at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.