1st for Care (GB) Ltd

1st for Care (GB) Ltd provides the regulated activities of personal care and treatment for disease, disorder or injury to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care or treatment. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating or treatment for a disease, disorder or injury which is provided by a health care professional. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection one person was receiving personal care. The service provided personal assistants who worked in people’s homes.

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

People were safe and protected from abuse. They were supported by a small team of staff who they knew. The registered manager checked new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in people’s homes. The staff were trained in how to provide people’s care in a safe way.

The staff were skilled and competent to provide people’s support. A relative told us, “I am really happy with the standard of care we receive.” The staff gave people the help they needed to enjoy their meals and drinks. The registered manager assessed the support people required to ensure the service was suitable to meet their needs. The staff included people in decisions about their care and respected people’s rights. 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.

The staff treated people in a kind and caring way. People valued the service and the support the staff provided. A relative said, “I feel they [staff] really care about us.” The staff treated people with respect and helped them to maintain their independence and dignity.

The service provided people with personalised care that met their needs and took account of their wishes. The registered manager developed people’s care plans with them. If people requested changes to the planned care the registered manager tried to agree to the requested change. People knew how they could complain about the service. The registered manager had links with specialist services she could contact to support people as they reached the end of their lives.

People told us this was a good service and said they would recommend it. A relative told us, “This is by far the best [service] we have used.” The staff felt well supported and told us they would recommend the service as a good place to work. The registered manager asked people for their views to identify how the service could improve. The staff worked with other appropriate services to ensure people consistently received care to meet their needs.

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

Rating at last inspection: The last rating for this service was good (published 24 February 2017).

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

1st for Care (GB) Ltd is a domiciliary care agency which provides care and support to people with complex care needs to people living in their own home. 1st for Care (GB) Ltd offers a service nationally but has its office base in Lancaster. At the time of the inspection 1st for Care (GB) Ltd was providing domiciliary care to two people.

There was a 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.

This was the first inspection since the agency changed location. However previous inspections had been carried out at the last location.

We found the service 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 provide safe care for people.

The registered manager made sure new staff had a full employment history and obtained recruitment checks before employing them. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and their agreed care packages.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise potential risk of harm to people during delivery of their care and when staff visited homes of people. These had been reviewed when changes occurred.

Staff knew people they supported and provided a service that was suited for the individual. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished their care to be delivered. People told us they had been involved in making decisions about their care.

People supported by the service told us staff who visited them were polite, reliable, patient and respectful in their approach to their work. A comment included, “They are very good and caring people.”

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The service had a complaints procedure which was made available to people when they received a service. One person we spoke with told us they were happy and had no complaints.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included spot checks, care plan reviews and staff meetings.

Staff and one person who received a service told us the registered manager was supportive and approachable. The registered manager met with people and provided opportunities for them to comment about the quality of their care.