Archived: Diamond Care Services Ltd

This service is a domiciliary care agency and provides personal care and support to people living in their own houses in the community. It provides a service to younger adults, people living with dementia, older people, people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disabilities and sensory impairment.

On the day of the inspection there were 15 people using the service. The service was providing personal care to seven people and assisting eight people with domestic tasks. For example, social activities, meal preparation and prompting with medication. The office is situated on a main road in the Farnworth area of Bolton.

There was no registered manager in place. 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 who used the service felt safe with the staff that supported them. Staff files showed the recruitment system to be satisfactory and people employed had been checked with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

There were enough staff to meet the needs of people who currently used the service.

Electronic call logging in systems were not in were in place to monitor that staff had arrived at a person's home or stayed for the allocated time. Staff wrote on the daily log sheets times of arrival and departure.

The service had a safeguarding policy and procedure. Staff spoken with had received training in safeguarding. However, this was some time ago and there was no evidence of updates or certificates of when this training had been completed.

There was no evidence that demonstrated that the medicines systems were safe, and staff had undertaken appropriate training in medicines administration.

There were no records of an induction programme for new staff. However, we saw that new staff shadowed an experienced member of staff until they felt confident in their role.

We looked at the care plans for two people. The care plans we looked at showed that independence was promoted, and people told us their dignity and privacy were respected. However, some of the care plans needed reviewing and updating.

Care files we looked at had people's choices for their care and support recorded. Risk assessments and care plans were not reviewed on a regular basis to reflect changes to the initial care plan. Activities, such as accompanying people to go out in to the community were facilitated by the service where possible.

There was no evidence of staff receiving training in the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). However, we did see some evidence of consent from people who used the service agreeing to their care and support.

People who used the service told us the staff were kind and caring. Staff we spoke with were positive about their jobs and were complimentary about the interim management arrangements of the service.

There was a service user guide which included relevant information about the service. However, this required updating.

Feedback was sought from people who used the service. However, this was informal and during home visits. There was evidence of only one telephone monitoring call in 2018 taking place. There was an up to date complaints policy and procedure and complaints were dealt with appropriately.

There was no evidence of formal staff supervisions or appraisals. Staff meetings were not held. We saw no records of regular observations of staff competence which should be undertaken by the management.

There was no evidence of quality monitoring or audits to assess the quality of the service and care delivered.

We saw there were some extracts of policies available in the staff handbook. However, these need to be more comprehensive to provide staff with guidance and relevant contact names and telephone numbers. We were informed that the main policy and procedures file was missing.

Diamond Care Services provides domiciliary care to people living in their own homes. The service offers care to people living with dementia, people who require support with personal care and daily tasks and those who require companionship. At the time of the inspection there were approximately 15 people using the service.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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 service had a robust recruitment process to help ensure people they employed were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place and staff we spoke with were aware of the process to follow.

Appropriate personal and environmental risk assessments were in place at the service.

There was an effective and comprehensive induction programme at the service and staff training was on-going.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA).

People told us staff were caring and friendly and respected their privacy and dignity.

People who used the service were fully involved with decisions about their care.

People were given choices in relation to their care delivery and their personal preferences were taken into account.

There was a complaints policy in place and complaints were followed up appropriately.

The service had received a number of compliments and thank you cards.

The management team covered care shifts where required to help ensure their knowledge of care delivery was current.

People who used the service and staff felt well supported by the management team.

Staff spot checks and competency checks were undertaken regularly to help ensure consistent quality of care delivery.