Archived: Imagine Care

Updated 25 February 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 14 December 2015. We gave the registered manager 48 hours’ notice of the inspection in order to ensure people we needed to speak with were available. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

We reviewed the information we held about the service before we carried out the visit. This usually includes a Provider Information Return (PIR) but the Care Quality Commission had not requested the provider (owner) submit a PIR. A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We checked the notifications and other information the Care Quality Commission had received about the service.

At the time of the inspection the agency was supporting four people who required personal care. We spoke with two family members whose relatives were receiving a service from the agency. We spoke with the registered manager and two support staff.

We viewed a range of documentation including, support records for four people who used the service, two staff personnel files, records relating the operation of the service and a number of the provider’s policies and procedures.

Updated 25 February 2016

The inspection was carried out on 14 December 2015. We gave the registered manager 48 hours notice of the inspection in order to ensure people we needed to speak with were available.

Based in Southport, Imagine Care is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the regulated activity of personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the agency was supporting four people living in their own home in the Southport area.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The families of people who used the service told us they felt safe and secure in the way their relatives were supported by the staff. They said staff were kind and caring and understood the needs of their relatives.

Appropriate numbers of staff were available to provide a flexible service and to ensure people received the support at a time when they needed it.

Staff had completed adult safeguarding training. They were knowledgeable about adult abuse and clear about the arrangements for reporting any concerns they may have. They were aware of the agency’s whistle blowing policy and said they would not hesitate to use it.

Effective recruitment processes were in place to ensure that staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff received regular training for their role. Staff were up-to-date with their supervision and annual appraisal.

The consent of people was obtained before support was provided and in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

The assessments and support plans in place were personalised and provided detailed information about each person’s preferences, needs and interests. They included a background to the person’s health care history.

People and/or their families were involved in reviewing the support plans. Their views were sought on a regular basis about the effectiveness of the service.

Processes for routinely monitoring the quality of the service provision were established, including a survey and regular contact with people and families to check they were satisfied with the support arrangements.