Archived: Direct Personnel Agency Limited

Direct Personnel Agency Limited is a domiciliary care service. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community, including older people and people living with dementia. The service operates in various locations in Lincolnshire. At the time of our inspection, approximately 20 people were receiving a personal care service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider was exceptionally kind and caring and often went far beyond formal contractual requirements to promote people's welfare and happiness. Staff at all levels understood people’s individual care needs and preferences and used this knowledge to provide them with flexible, responsive support.

Staff worked in a non-discriminatory way and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and independence. The provider took care to involve people and their relatives in planning and reviewing their care and to deploy staffing resources in accordance with their individual preferences. People were provided with food and drink of their choice which met their nutritional requirements.

Training and supervision systems were in place to provide staff with the knowledge and skills they required to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff worked together in a mutually supportive way and communicated effectively with a range of external organisations.

Systems were in place to ensure effective infection prevention and control and people's medicines were managed safely in line with their individual needs and preferences. Staff worked collaboratively with local health and social care services to ensure people had access to any support they required.

Staff were aware of people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and supported people to have maximum choice and control of their lives, in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s individual risk assessments were reviewed and updated to take account of changes in their needs. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm.

The service was well-managed and well-led. The registered managers provided open, supportive leadership and were respected and appreciated by their team. A range of audits was in place to monitor the quality and safety of service provision. There was organisational learning from significant events and any complaints were managed effectively. The provider was committed to the continuous improvement of the service in the future.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 June 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

We inspected the service on 22 May 2017. The inspection was announced. At the time of our inspection 28 people were receiving a personal care service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers (the ‘provider’) 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.

Following our last inspection in January 2015 we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we were pleased to find service quality had been maintained and the rating remains as Good.

Everyone we spoke with told us that they were highly satisfied with every aspect of the service they received. In particular, the provider’s careful approach to managing staffing resources which meant staff were rarely late for the start of their care calls. Staff had established warm, friendly relationships with people and went out of their way to help them in any way they could. Staff worked together in a supportive way and participated in a varied programme of training appropriate to their needs. They were proud to work for the provider and felt listened to by the registered manager and other senior staff.

People were involved in agreeing the type and amount of care they received and their needs and wishes were understood and followed by staff. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and encouraged them to maintain their independence. Staff had the knowledge and skills required to meet people’s individual needs effectively and supported them to prepare food and drink of their choice.

People’s medicines were managed safely and staff worked closely with local healthcare services to support people to access any specialist support they needed. The provider assessed any potential risks to people’s safety and welfare and put preventive measures in place where required. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm.

CQC is required by law to monitor how a provider applies the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and to report on what we find. Staff understood the principles of the MCA and how to support people who lacked the capacity to make some decisions for themselves.

The provider was committed to the continuous improvement of the service and maintained a range of systems to monitor service quality. The provider sought people’s opinions through regular customer surveys and people were confident any complaints would be handled properly.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. One relative told us, 'They are very helpful.' Another relative said, 'I think they are wonderful I would be devastated if they were not there.' Relatives we spoke with told us they had regular carers, this enabled them to build a relationship and develop Trust with the care workers. People told us carer workers turned up on time.

Care workers assisted people with their medication. Where people were not able to self medicate, care workers involved family members and other health care professionals to ensure medication was administered at the appropriate time.

Appropriate checks were carried out on staff before they were allowed to work with vulnerable people.

The provider had systems in place to ensure people were happy with the care they received.

People's records were kept securely and could be located promptly when needed.