Avant-Garde Services Limited Also known as AGSL

Avant Garde is a domiciliary care service in the London Borough of Greenwich, providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. On the day of the inspection there was one person using the service.

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

Medicines were not always safely managed in line with best practice. Risks in relation to people’s health needs were not always identified or assessed or advice from health professionals sought when needed. Assessments of people’s needs were not sufficiently robust.

We have made a recommendation for the provider to consult best practice guidance around the assessment of people's needs.

The person using the service was happy with the support provided and felt safe with staff. Staff knew the action to take if they suspected abuse or neglect had occurred.

There were arrangements to make sure people were protected from the risk of infection through safe infection control practice.

Staff were supported in their roles through training and regular supervision. Staff offered support to ensure people could receive a balanced diet of their choice.

The person using the service had a small staff team who knew them well and they liked. Staff treated people with care, consideration dignity and respect. There were arrangements to ensure people were involved in making decisions about the support they received.

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.

The person using the service received person centred care that met their wishes. They knew how to complain if they needed to.

Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the registered manager. The registered manager understood their responsibilities under the CQC regulations. They carried out spot checks on staff and audited records to oversee the quality and safety of the service. Feedback was sought from people and staff through regular contact and surveys.

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

This service was registered with us on 26 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We inspected to provide a rating for this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to identifying risks, the management of medicines and the systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service 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 from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety of the service.

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