Positive Care Link

Updated 13 December 2022

Inspection team

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 was carried out by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 not a registered manager in post. The provider had recruited to the post of registered manager but they were yet to start work with the service.

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 a member of staff would be available to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service. This included correspondence with the provider. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used information gathered as part of a monitoring activity that took place on 16 August 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Inspection activity started on 8 November and ended on 10 November 2022. We visited the location’s office/service location on 8 November 2022.

We spoke with the nominated individual, care project officer and finance and administrative officer. A nominated individual is a person who supervises the management of a regulated activity across an organisation. We made calls to two care workers, four people who used the service and one family member. We looked at records of care and support for three people and medicines records for two people. We reviewed records of recruitment, training and supervision for three staff.

Updated 13 December 2022

About the service

Positive Care Link is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to older people and people with physical disabilities who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service and three people were receiving personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. In this service, the Care Quality Commission can only inspect the service received by people who get support with personal care. This includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive such support, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

The service did not always review people’s care plans and risk assessments to ensure that they reflected people’s changing needs and many plans were now out of date. Care workers received appropriate training to ensure they were able to deliver care effectively and safely. Medicines were managed safely by staff who had the right training to do so.

People told us they received good quality and reliable care from this service. People were treated well and with respect by a consistent care team who had been supporting them for many years and understood their needs well. A person told us “I would definitely recommend Positive Care Link, because they are reliable and do what you tell them to do”.

People were often contacted or visited by managers in the service to check the quality of their care and told us they were always able to reach a manager to discuss concerns. The service acted quickly to adapt care to meet people’s changing needs, including arranging additional care hours as needed. Staff understood people’s needs and preferences and used effective communication approaches to ensure people could make choices about their care. People told us they felt listened to and treated with respect.

People were safeguarded from abuse and poor treatment and staff were recruited to ensure that they were suitable for their roles. Some policies and procedures needed to be reviewed to ensure they reflected current guidance and legislation. There were not clear systems for auditing records of care, including medicines records, and recording of daily care was not done in a way which would let the service monitor people’s wellbeing or diets.

Staff told us they felt well supported by managers and were always able to seek advice when they needed to do so. Managers carried out frequent spot checks and telephone monitoring to ensure people were happy with the service they received. The service did not have a registered manager, but a new manager was due to start work soon.

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 information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 11 February 2020).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to how the provider meets the Accessible Information Standard and employs robust quality management systems. We will check if the provider has acted on any recommendations at our next inspection.

Follow up

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