- Homecare service
Prudent Domiciliary Care Limited (PBG)
Report from 28 June 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment 15 to 25 July 2024. We found breaches of the legal regulations in relation to staffing, safeguarding, safe care and treatment and good governance. People did not always receive care as planned. There were significant and multiple delays in care visits, visits shorter than planned and staff rosters were not always planned to provide staff with travel time and breaks when working long days. This negatively affected people’s experience of care and put them at risk of avoidable harm and their needs being neglected. People told us the lateness affected their day to day lives and sometimes meant staff did not have an opportunity to provide their care when it was most needed. The provider recently recognised issues with planning and delivery of the care visits but actions taken to address those shortfalls were not completed at the time of the assessment which meant people remained at risk. Staff did not always follow good infection prevention and control practice and provider’s processes for safe management of medicines which put people at risk of avoidable harm. The governance systems used in the service did not enable the provider to have a good oversight of the quality and safety of people’s care and to address the improvement needs effectively. In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we user our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives told us their care was not always provided timely, for the required amount of time and by a consistent group of skilled staff which impacted on their quality of life and their care. People commented, “Mornings I’ve been asking for ages to be before 10am because they were getting later, and later, to sometimes 1 or 2 in the afternoon.”, “Sometimes they are knocking at 6am, sometimes at 9am. There is no routine”, “[Staff] have rung me before (when running late) but when they have new staff, I don’t always get a call. They are getting more in the time slot they are supposed to be.” Relatives told us, “It’s different people and sometimes they don’t know what they’re doing. They (staff) seem to be in and out as quick as they can”, “Inconsistency in timings and staff is what frustrates me the most, although it has been better recently. Some [staff] are competent, others aren’t.” People were not always happy with how the service learnt lessons when things went wrong. People commented that not all transitions in care were managed well by the service. People felt safe with staff when they were receiving care. People said, “Yes (I do feel safe with staff)” and “[Staff] are really caring and attentive. I feel 100% safe when they are around.” People overall told us staff knew how to support them. One person commented, “If you were to ask me if I was happy with them and do I want to keep them, I’d say yes, absolutely.” Some people were complimentary about how staff ensured they were supported to live in clean and comfortable environment. Other people and relatives were concerned about how staff supported people around safe preparation of food or cleaning their equipment. People told us they overall received support with their medicines when needed. However, the delays in care visits sometimes affected people’s ability to take their medicines on time and as prescribed.