Archived: St Annes Care Services

Updated 19 March 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 checked 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 visit took place on 17 February 2016 and was announced. The registered manager was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people living in the community. We did this to ensure we had access to the main office and the management team were available.

The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people the service supported. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people being supported had been received.

We went to St Annes Care Services office base and spoke with a range of people about the service. They included the two owners of which one was the registered manager, assistant manager and a senior carer. In addition we spoke with three staff members. We also visited the home of a person who received a service and spoke with them. We contacted two people who used the service by telephone and spoke with one person who visited the office whilst we were there. This was to get their views on the care provided by St Annes Care Services.

We looked at the care records of two people who used the service and training records of staff members. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.

Updated 19 March 2016

This inspection visit took place on 17 February 2016 and was announced. We told the registered manager a day before our visit that we would be coming. We did this to ensure we had access to the main office and the management team were available.

St Annes Care Services offers domiciliary care and support to a range of people in their own homes. The range of support provided includes assistance with personal care, domestic duties, laundry tasks, shopping, and meal preparation. At the time of our inspection visit we were informed St Annes Care Services provided support for 15 people.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

This was the first inspection since the agency changed location. However previous inspections had been carried out at the last location. The service had met the regulations inspected at that time in October 2015.

Staff knew the people they supported and provided a personalised service. Care plans we looked at detailed how people wished to be supported. Risk assessments were completed for staff who entered private homes both for the environment and personal care delivery. This was to ensure people were kept safe.

People were kept safe and free from harm. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. One staff member said, “We have lost a few clients and sickness of staff has not helped. However we are still managing and people we care for receive a quality service.”

Staff responsible for prompting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. One staff member said, “If we ever had to administer we have had the training to do so.”

Staff were able to accommodate changes to times care was delivered when requested by relatives or the person who received a service. This was confirmed by talking with people who used the service. One person said, “I sometimes need to go out sooner that is fine with the girls.”

The registered manager had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report any unsafe care or abusive practices. Training was updated on a regular basis and records we looked at confirmed this.

No new staff had been recruited since the service changed their location address and registered with CQC. However systems and procedures were in place should new personnel be required to work at the agency.

Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs.

People supported by the agency told us staff and the registered manager who visited them were polite, reliable and professional in their approach to their work.

Staff told us they received supervision with the registered manager on a regular basis. Records we looked at confirmed this. This meant they had opportunities to discuss any issues or training needs that would support them to provide a better service.

Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals. This was confirmed by records kept by the agency and talking with people who used the service.

The service had a complaints procedure which was made available to people they supported. People we spoke with told us they knew how to make a complaint if they had any concerns.

We found a number of audits were in place to monitor quality assurance. The registered manager had systems in place to obtain the views of people who used the service. These included spot checks and satisfaction surveys.