Archived: Campbells Private Home Care

Updated 21 December 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 was planned to check 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 took place on 10 and 11 November 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to assist with the inspection.

Campbells Private Home Care proves domiciliary care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 12 people.

The inspection was completed by one inspector. Prior to and after the inspection, we reviewed previous inspection reports and other information we held about the service including notifications. Notifications are changes or events that occur at the service which the provider has a legal duty to inform us about. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection we sent out 34 questionnaires to people who use the service, relatives, staff and community professionals. We wanted to hear people’s views about Campbells Private Home Care. We received 16 responses. During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager who also holds the position of provider. Following the inspection we spoke on the telephone with three staff, three people and three relatives of other people who used the service. We visited one relative in their home to look at documentation related to the care of three people.

We reviewed four people’s care plans. We reviewed records related the employment of four staff and policies and audits connected to the running of the service.

Updated 21 December 2016

This announced inspection on 10 and 11 November 2016. Campbells Private Home Care provides domiciliary care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 12 people were being supported by the service. The provider is also the registered manager. 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.

At the time of our inspection a new office had been built to accommodate the service administration. Some documents were in boxes ready to be transferred to the office and some were already in the office. Due to the difficulty in accessing information some documentation was sent to us following the inspection.

Although people told us they felt safe using the service, we found a number of concerns related to the policies and practice of staff. The provider’s policy on medicines stated staff did not administer any medicines. However, documents reflected staff were applying prescribed creams and lotions which were classified as topical medicines to people. They had not received training. The registered manager failed to recognise this fell into the category of medicines. This placed people at risk of harm or injury as staff had not been trained to apply topical medicines.

Recruitment practices were not always robust and did not always offer security to people that the staff employed to care for them had been checked thoroughly. We have made a recommendation that the provider seeks guidance on safe recruitment practice.

Staff knew how to identify and report safeguarding concerns. We were told there had been no safeguarding concerns in the service.

We have recommended to the provider they put systems in place to respond in a timely way to telephone calls for support from staff. Without this people or staff were placed at risk.

We have made a recommendation to the provider they identify training for staff in relation to the specialist needs of people using the service. Staff training was not kept up to date and monitored. The policy reflected inaccurate information related to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and its expectations.

Staff were not able to explain how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) affected their roles. We have recommended the service seeks training for staff in this area.

Staff were described as kind and caring. They had built relationships with the people they cared for and people spoke positively about them and their skills. Staff knew how to treat people with respect and protected their dignity.

People had been consulted as part of the care planning process and had given consent to the care being provided.

Information held in people’s care plans and risk assessments was not always accurate or up to date. Although this information was updated and sent to us following the inspection, we found that people did not always have a copy of the care plan in their home. Without appropriate documentation, guidance and information on how to manage risks and carry out care safely, people were placed at risk of harm.

People and relatives spoke positively about the service they received and felt it was well managed.

We had concerns about how the service was managed. We made a recommendation to the provider to seek advice about policy writing. This was because information in the whistleblowing policy was not clear for staff to follow or understand.

There were no comprehensive audits undertaken to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided except in one area, Health and Safety. Actions recommended as a result of this had not all been actioned 12 months after the audit had taken place. Without audits and quality assurance systems in place the registered manager would not be aware of all the issues related to the service and could not drive forward improvements or ensure its safety.

We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report