Archived: Prime Care Community Services Limited - Bournemouth

We visited the offices of Prime Care Community Services Limited ' Bournemouth on 24 February 2014. We met the registered manager and examined records. We spoke with six care workers during our visit and by telephone over the next two days.

We also spoke with a family member of a person who received a service. They told us they were pleased with the standard of care their relative received and commented that staff were 'enormously understanding of my [relative]'.

During this inspection we pathway-tracked six people whom Prime Care supported to take prescribed medicines and two people who looked after their own medicines. This meant we examined records of the support they received with their medicines and spoke with one person's relative. This was so we could evaluate the arrangements in place to support people safely with their medicines and whether staff were appropriately trained and supported to meet their care needs.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

People were cared for by staff who received training and support to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard. Staff we spoke with talked enthusiastically about their roles and told us they felt well supported.

People told us they were involved in drawing up their plans of care and received support to meet their needs. One relative told us, "Care workers deal with Mum well, and are kind and patient, even when she hits out". Another person said that they had a regular team of care workers and they received care according to their wishes.

The agency had suitable arrangements in place for administering and recording medication. Regular audits and checks on staff practice ensured that any omissions in recording were investigated and action plans implemented if needed.

The agency had suitable systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. This included an annual survey and analysis of complaints and incidents.

Records required for the running of the service were usually up to date, accurate and maintained. Where gaps had been identified the agency had implemented systems to monitor this and retrained staff if required, to ensure records were completed fully.

The provider had failed to notify the Care Quality Commission of significant events that had occurred. We discussed this during our visit and the manager immediately put arrangement in place to ensure this did not occur again.

We spoke with five care staff and the manager and they told us that their safeguarding of vulnerable adults training had included the prevention of abuse and whistle blowing. One care worker we spoke with said: 'I would have no hesitation at all in reporting any concerns I had to my manager' We saw that Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks had been completed and there were two references for each employee, together with proof of identity and right to work in the UK. We cross-referenced the CRB checks against the contract start dates and found that people did not start to work alone until the CRB checks were complete.

The provider had a system in place to audit and assess the quality of the service and this was carried out by senior management every month. The manager care workers and people receiving the service told us about spot checks that were undertaken to observe care workers delivering care. This was to check their care practices and to take action when needed to make improvements.