Archived: Nursdoc Ltd

Updated 18 December 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary nursing agency. It provides personal and nursing care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service two days’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and the registered manager is often out delivering personal care to people. We wanted to make sure someone would be available to meet with us

The inspection site visit took place on 14 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as allegations of abuse. We checked for feedback we received from members of the public, the local authority and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the homecare manager, the operations manager, two clinicians and a care coordinator. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and records relating to staff training and support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with two relatives and two care workers via the telephone.

Updated 18 December 2019

About the service

Nursdoc provides personal and complex nursing care for people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service was providing personal and nursing care to six people, all of whom were children of varying ages.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider checked staff were suitable to work with people and there were enough staff to support people safely. The provider assessed risks including those related to their complex nursing needs and staff were trained to reduce the risks. People received their medicines safely. Staff followed suitable practices to reduce the risk of infection when caring for people.

The clinicians developed a unique training package for staff working with each person based on their needs and preferences. Before staff were allowed to work with people alone they were closely supported and assessed as competent in each care task people required. Nurses were supported to maintain their registration and care workers were supported to complete further qualifications.

People received the support they needed to maintain their day to day health and in relation to eating and drinking. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Relatives were positive about the staff who supported their children. Each child received consistency of care from a small number of staff who worked with them and knew them well. Care was personalised to meet people’s needs and preferences. Some people received social and emotional support from staff and the provider put activity programmes in place based on people’s interests. The provider could provide information to people in alternative formats to meet people’s communication needs. The provider had a suitable process in place to respond to any concerns or complaints.

An experienced registered manager was in post who was also a registered nurse and a nurse prescriber. Relatives and staff told us the service was well-led and the provider engaged well with them and our inspection findings supported this. The provider had good oversight of the service, and people received daily contact from the provider to check their children were receiving care as planned.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and follow up

The last rating for this service was good (report published May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.