Nursing Care Personnel Ltd

Updated 21 May 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

One inspector completed this inspection.

Service and service type

Nursing Care Personnel is a domiciliary (home care) 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

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 16 April 2021 and ended on 30 April 2021. We visited the office location on 20 April 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local safeguarding team. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, seven care staff and ten relatives of people who use the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed including training data and other quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 21 May 2021

About the service

Nursing Care Personnel Ltd provides domiciliary and live in care services to people with a range of needs including dementia and physical health conditions. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 30 people. The majority of people supported were in receipt of end of life care.

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

People and their relatives felt the care provided was safe and risks were managed appropriately. However, risk assessments did not always provide staff with enough information. Staff told us that where records were lacking, they were able to seek advice and support from the registered manager, who was always available. Staff had received training which enabled them to administer medicine safely. However, more information needed to be documented in care plans, especially in relation to “as required” medicines, such as pain relief. People were supported by a consistent team of care staff, but recruitment records required more detail. Staff had received training in infection control practices and had access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE).

Before care commenced the registered manager completed assessments to ensure people’s needs could be met by Nursing Care Personnel Limited. Care plans were developed from these assessments. Care plans were variable in quality and in terms of the level of detail documented with regards to people’s preferences. However, people’s relatives confirmed that staff were knowledgeable, kind and caring and ensured care was provided in line with their loved ones wishes. Staff received training and support to carry out their roles effectively, although competency assessments had not been completed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Relatives praised the caring nature of the staff team, who treated their loved one’s with dignity and respect. Relatives knew how to raise concerns with the management team and were confident any issues would be resolved immediately and to their satisfaction.

The provider was committed to providing a high standard of care to the people they supported. People, relatives and staff spoke very highly of the registered manager and told us they were always available and supportive. However, quality assurance and governance systems were yet to be embedded at the service. This meant areas for improvement were not always identified, actioned and documented.

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

Rating at Last Inspection

This service was registered with us on 15 October 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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.