Archived: Purestar Homecare Resources Limited

Purestar is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were six people using the service. Support is provided to people who may have physical disabilities, learning disability or mental health needs. The service supports people who require support with personal care needs at various times of the day.

There was a registered manager 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.

Not all people were able to take their own medicine and were supported by staff who had not completed training.

Although staff had been shown how to use the hoist they had not been provided with training from a source that was up to date with current good practices and who could show they were trained to provide training. This showed that the provider had failed to ensure staff had the relevant skills and competence to provide safe support at all time as training had not been completed by staff.

Risks assessments were personalised to people’s needs so risks associated with people’s care were reduced and people had been involved in the planning of their care and received support in line with their care plan.

People were supported to make choices and were involved in the care and support they received. The provider took actions to ensure people’s legal rights were protected.

Staff supported people in a way that met their individual needs and preferences. Where appropriate people were supported to access health and social care professionals.

Staff was caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People’s choices and independence was respected and promoted and staff responded to people’s support needs.

People, relatives and staff felt they could speak with the provider about their worries or concerns and felt they would be listened to and were confident changes would be actioned if needed.

The provider quality assurance and audit systems in place to monitor the care and support people received to ensure the service remained consistent, were ineffective.

Purestar home care service is a domiciliary care service providing support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were eight people who were receiving a service.

There was a registered manager in post when we inspected. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered managers, 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.

At this inspection we only looked at whether the service had made improvements in the recruitment process, and the quality monitoring of the service.

We found that all the appropriate recruitment checks were being undertaken to ensure that only people suitable to work with people in their own homes were being employed.

We saw that some improvements had been made to the systems in place for monitoring and improving the quality of the service, but the systems were not fully embedded so a full assessment could not be completed.

The last inspection of the service was 5 May 2013 where they had met all the standards assessed.

Purestar homecare resource is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to people living in their own homes. People purchased their own care. At the time of our inspection nine people received support from this service.

There was a registered manager in post who is registered with us. 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.

People felt safe with the staff that supported them but systems were not in place to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to protect their rights and keep them safe. People were not always protected because management plans were not in place to manage risks based on people’s individual assessed care needs but were reliant on staff knowing people well.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

People were supported with their medication when required however staff had not received training to ensure people received their medication safely.

There were sufficient numbers of available to support people. Staff had not received adequate training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to care for people. Recruitment practices did not ensure that only suitable people were employed to care for people.

People were consulted about their care so their wishes, choices and preferences were known so they could receive care that met their individual needs. People were able to make decisions about their care and were actively involved in how their care was planned and delivered. People’s rights to make decisions were promoted by the staff. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted and maintained.

People were able to raise their concerns or complaints and these were addressed. Monitoring of complaints had not taken place to enable improvements to be made and prevent reoccurrence. Staff supported people with their nutrition and health care needs .Referrals were made in

consultation with people who used the service if there were concerns about their health.

Systems to enable the manager to monitor the quality of the service provided and manage risks relating to people using the service were not in place. People felt that they were able to make suggestions on the quality of the service they received and their views were listened to.

We found effective recruitment and selection processes were in place. Staff received an induction that took into account the training relevant to their workplace and job role. This meant that people that we spoke with who used the service told us that staff were competent and they felt safe with them.

One person said "I can't find no fault with the agency, they are qualified to do their job, they always come as expected." Another person told us "[The care worker] is like my friend, I couldn't do without her."

People's needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. Care workers were generally on time and reliable, "They look after me very well, both of my regular carers."

Action was taken to identify and prevent abuse from happening in the service. Workers understood the risks associated with people's vulnerability and their responsibility to help people to raise any concerns they had, "I have nothing but admiration for them, they are the best carers I've had for years."

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place and workers received appropriate training. However we have asked the provider to put in place a system for keeping track of the dates that visas expire to make sure that workers remain eligible to work in the UK.

The provider company had moved address and not made an application to us. This was being put right while we conducted the inspection.