Archived: Premium Care Solutions Limited

Updated 19 October 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 is 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.

This inspection took place on 14 and 16 September 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides care for people in their own homes; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return [PIR]. This 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. The provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made judgements in this report.

We reviewed other information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed information sent to us by other agencies, including the local authority safeguarding team.

During this inspection we spoke with two people who used the service and one relative. We also looked at care records relating to five people. In total we spoke with ten members of staff, including support workers, a team leader, the human resources manager and the registered manager. We also spoke with the provider, who was the clinical lead for the service. We looked at the quality monitoring arrangements for the service, five records in relation to staff recruitment, as well as records related to staff training and competency, staff duty rotas, meeting minutes and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 19 October 2016

This announced inspection took place over two days on 14 and 16 September 2016.

At the time of our inspection the service supported 16 people who required care for complex health needs, including care of tracheostomies and the use of ventilators for some people.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 provider was closely involved in the day to day running of the service and routinely monitored people’s care. This meant that they were able to address any concerns regarding the quality of the service provided as they arose.

Recruitment procedures were sufficiently robust to protect people from receiving unsafe care from support staff that were unsuitable to work at the service. Staff were employed specifically to meet individual people’s needs.

There were systems in place to manage medicines safely and people had specific risk assessments and care plans relating to the provision of their medicines.

People were protected from harm arising from poor practice or abuse as there were clear safeguarding procedures in place for care staff to follow if they were concerned about people’s safety. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs as much as they were able. Staff were aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA2005) and applied their knowledge appropriately. There was a Mental Capacity policy and procedure for staff to follow to assess whether people had the capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Care records contained individual risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They provided information to staff about action to be taken to minimise any risks whilst allowing people to be as independent as possible. Robust emergency procedures were in place to deal with environmental and medical emergencies.

Care plans were written in a person centred approach and detailed how people wished to be supported and where possible people were involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a wide range of activities and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.

People received care from staff who had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet their needs. All staff had undergone a comprehensive induction and thorough practical and theoretical training.

Staff were aware of the importance of managing complaints promptly and in line with the provider’s policy. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.