Background to this inspection
Updated
16 March 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
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.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 2 people, 6 relatives and 7 members of staff for feedback on their experiences of care and working for the service. This included the registered manager, nominated individual, care staff, community manager and office administrator. The nominated individual was responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also received feedback from a social worker. We looked at 3 people’s care records, 2 recruitment files and a variety of documents relating to the management of the service. This included policies, procedures, a training matrix and quality assurance audits
Updated
16 March 2023
About the service
Platinum Healthcare services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service. 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 the service and what we found
The service had been through a period of instability due to management staff leaving and staff sickness. Although improvements had been made to staffing, the registered manager and director continued to cover calls in response to staff sickness. This impacted on the time they had available to manage the service, which they recognised. However, there was no impact on the quality of care people received.
Staff received safeguarding training to help them recognise potential signs of abuse or neglect and were confident reporting their concerns. Risks to people’s health were assessed with guidance in place for staff to help manage those risks. Staff, people and their relatives told us their care was not rushed and that staff had time to get to know people and their needs. Staff were trained in how to administer medicines safely and infection prevention and control. The provider and staff were committed to improving the service and continuous learning, to identify and drive improvements.
People's needs were assessed before they began using the service. Staff were given an induction and training to ensure they had the skills and experiences needed to carry out their roles effectively. When people needed support with their eating and drinking, information was included in care plans which described the type of support needed. The service worked with other health professionals and agencies to improve people’s outcomes. 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 provider recognised the importance of using people’s past histories to support them and were proactive in supporting people’s specific needs relating to their protected characteristics. Spot checks and audits were used to monitor the safety and quality of care people received. Continuous staff development to improve people's experiences of care were valued and promoted.
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 and there were breaches of regulation (published 27 April 2022). 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 have 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 10 March 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good 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, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. 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 Platinum Healthcare Services 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.