Archived: St Annes Care Services

Updated 7 December 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 visit took place on 09 November 2015 and was announced. The owner was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service to people living in the community. We did this to ensure we had access to the main office and the management team were available.

The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people the service supported. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people being supported had been received.

We went to St Annes Care Services office base and spoke with a range of people about the service. They included the two owners of which one was the registered manager, two senior care co-ordinators, six staff members and two carers of people the agency supported. We also visited three homes of people who received a service and spoke with them. We contacted another person who received a service by telephone, to get their views on the care provided by St Annes Care Services.

We looked at the care records of two people who used the service, training and recruitment records of staff members and records relating to the management of the service. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.

Updated 7 December 2015

This inspection visit took place on 09 November 2015 and was announced. We told the owner one day before our visit that we would be coming. We did this to ensure we had access to the main office and the management team were available.

St Annes Care Services Care offers domiciliary care and support to a range of people in their own homes. The range of support provided includes assistance with personal care, domestic duties, laundry tasks, shopping, and meal preparation. At the time of our inspection visit we were informed St Annes Care Services provided support for 18 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.

The agency had changed location from October 2014. Since then the location had not been inspected.

People were kept safe and free from harm. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. One staff member said, “We are a small agency and support each other well.” Staff were able to accommodate last minute changes to appointments as requested by the person who used the service or their relatives. This was confirmed by talking with people who used the service.

The registered manager 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 report any unsafe care or abusive practices.

We found recruitment procedures were safe with appropriate checks undertaken before new staff members commenced their employment. Staff received regular 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.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. Risk assessments were completed for staff entering private homes to ensure people were kept safe. People told us they liked the staff and looked forward to the staff coming to their homes. One person who received a service said, “Fantastic service the staff are so friendly and competent.”

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

People were supported to eat and drink where needed. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals. This was confirmed by records kept by the agency.

We found a number of audits were in place to monitor quality assurance. The registered manager and provider had systems in place to obtain the views of people who used the service and their relatives/friends.