Archived: Dawn To Dusk Community care

The registered provider managed the service. 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 our last inspection in May 2013 the service was meeting the regulations inspected. At this inspection we found the provider had not notified the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of two notifiable incidents which the service is required to send us by law. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

People who used the service told us they felt safe with the staff. The service had clear procedures to recognise and respond to abuse. All staff completed safeguarding training. The care quality manager completed risk assessments for every person who used the service. However, some improvement was required in the recording of plans to minimise risk and provide sufficient guidance to staff. The service had a system to manage accidents and incidents to reduce reoccurrence.

The service had enough staff to support people and carried out satisfactory background checks of staff before they started working. Staff supported people so they took their medicine safely.

The service provided an induction and training and supported staff through quarterly supervision and yearly appraisal to help them undertake their role.

People’s consent was sought before care was provided. The care quality manager considered every person currently using the service to have the capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Staff supported people to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. People’s relatives coordinated health care appointments and health care needs, and staff were available to support people to access health care appointments if needed.

People told us they were consulted about their care and support needs. Staff supported people in a way which was caring, respectful, and protected their privacy, dignity, and human rights.

Staff prepared care plans for every person that was tailored to meet their individual needs and they were up to date.

The service had a clear policy and procedure about managing complaints. People knew how to complain and would do so if necessary.

The service sought the views of people who used the services and their relatives to improve the service. Staff felt supported by the care quality manager. The service had an effective system to assess and monitor the quality of the care people received. The service used theses checks to learn how to improve and what action to take.

At our visit we found that people and relatives were involved in the care and there were suitable measures in place to ensure appropriate people were recruited for the job. People received safe care and records were maintained adequately in most cases.

When we followed these issues up in January 2013 we found the provider had addressed the recruitment issues that had been identified at our last inspection.

People said that staff always turned up for visits. One person said, "they are almost always on time and stay for the whole allotted duration'. People who used the services were involved in their care planning. 'We were given information and they asked for our suggestions', said one relative whom we spoke with. People received personalised care and support which was based on an assessment of their needs.

However, we found that recruitment of some staff had not been undertaken appropriately. Some staff had commenced their employment, without the provider having received confirmation of suitable enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. We have asked the provider to take immediate action to ensure only suitable people are employed by the service