13 December 2016
During a routine inspection
First Choice Care Agency Limited is registered to provide personal care. The service is situated in Leicester and provides care to people who live in their own homes in Leicester mainly in the LE4 and LE5 postcode areas. The service caters for older people. There were 27 people using this service at the time of our inspection.
The service has a registered manager. This 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 and relatives told us the staff who worked for the service were caring and kind. They said they had regular staff which gave them the opportunity to build positive caring relations with them. They gave us examples of staff going out of their way to provide them with flexible and personalised care.
The staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about the people they supported. They understood their care needs and how to keep them safe. They were also aware of their hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, and preferences. The caring approach of the staff meant that people and relatives felt happy and secure using the service.
Staff told us the service had a family atmosphere and the registered manager was supportive and caring. She valued her staff and understood how important they were to the people using the service. She encouraged the staff to develop their skills and knowledge through training, regular meetings and supervision sessions.
People using the service had their care needs assessed and care plans put in place before the service commenced. This meant staff had the information they needed to provide safe and effective care. If people were at risk in any area of their lives staff took action to minimise this using, for example, skilled moving and handling and infection control techniques.
The care provided was flexible and staff made changes if people wanted these, providing the person remained safe. Staff worked with other health and social care professionals and knew when to refer people for medical assistance if they needed it. People and relatives told us their calls were punctual and staff stayed for the designated amount of time.
People and relatives told us that overall the service provided good quality care and they were satisfied with how it was run. They said they were encouraged to share their views about the service through annual surveys and during care reviews. They also said the registered manager was approachable and they could contact her at any time if they had a concern or wanted to discuss the service.
The registered manager and care coordinator carried out regular audits of all aspects of the service to ensure it was running effectively. This centred on a monthly audit of each person’s package of care and support which checked to see that people were satisfied with the quality of care and support provided. Records showed that the registered manager and staff took action to continually improve the service.