5 & 11 August 2015
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on 5 & 11 August 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the service is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that someone would be in. This was Annette’s Care first inspection since registration with CQC (Care Quality Commission).
Annette’s Care provides a personal care service to people living in their own home. On the day of the inspection four people were being supported by Annette’s Care with their personal care needs.
The service had 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. The registered manager is also the registered provider.
The offices of Annette’s Care were based in Plymouth, however they supported people who lived in Cornwall.
People were not always kept safe. People were not kept safe or fully protected due to poor recruitment procedures. Staff had completed training on safeguarding adults from abuse. Staff understood the principles and had a good knowledge on how to report any concerns and described what action they would take to protect people against harm.
Care records contained information that described what staff needed to do to provide individual care and support. Staff responded quickly to people’s change in needs. People’s preferences, disabilities and abilities were taken into account, communicated and recorded.
People’s risks were managed well and monitored. The service had policies and procedures in place and these were understood by staff to help protect people and keep them safe.
People were encouraged and supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet.
People had their medicines managed safely and people and relatives told us they received their medicines as prescribed.
People, their relatives and staff were encouraged to be involved and help drive continuous improvements. This helped ensure positive progress was made in the delivery of care and support provided by the service.
The service sought verbal feedback from people and encouraged people to share their concerns and complaints. The registered manager investigated any complaints or concerns thoroughly and used the outcome as an opportunity for learning to take place.
The registered manager had completed training in the Mental Capacity Act. The registered manager displayed a good understanding of the requirements of the act, which had been followed in practice.
People’s needs were met by the staff employed. However due to the low staffing numbers employed staff were stretched and worked long hours. Staff were appropriately trained and had the correct skills to carry out their roles effectively. Staff described the management as very open, supportive and approachable. Staff talked positively about their jobs.
There were effective quality assurance systems in place to help drive improvements and ensure positive progress was made in the delivery of care and support provided by the service.
We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.