11 January 2016
During a routine inspection
This inspection was announced and took place on 11 January 2016. Nurse Plus and Carer Plus is registered to provide nursing care and personal care services to people in their own homes. The service was registered with us in October 2013 however the registered activity of personal care commenced in November 2015. At the time of our inspection 11 people were receiving a personal care or support from the service. Some people received personal care others received regular “sitting” visits at a time to suit them. This meant staff supported people at home while their family carer was absent.
This is the first inspection of this service. Since 2013 the service had been supplying nurses and care assistants to care homes providing nursing and personal care. We did not inspect this aspect of their work which is not regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
There is 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.
People and their relatives were very complimentary about the quality of the service provided and of the management and staff team. They told us the service was reliable and staff were polite and kind. People were kept safe and free from harm. One person told us “I do feel safe. They are reliable. They have not let me down once. ” A relative said “I have no worries. I am very satisfied. They are very good. All is done as documented.” People looked forward to visits from the staff and enjoyed time spent with them.
There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. People enjoyed having a team of regular staff who knew them well.
Staff received comprehensive induction 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 received a personalised service. When initial assessments were carried out attention was paid to finding out exactly what sort of support people required. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and plan on-going improvements. The provider had developed corporate policies and procedures which were available to support this service. Regular visits and audits from the provider’s staff was supporting the development of thregulated activity.