The Care Quality Commission
  • Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Archived: Abia Care Solutions

Room 8, Watson House, 398-400 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 8BN (01202) 443450

Provided and run by:
Mr Maed Darwich

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

21, 22 August 2013

During a routine inspection

At the time of our inspection of Abacus Care Bournemouth (the agency) 62 people were receiving a service. The agency provided up to 1000 hours of care a week to people in their own homes.

Our inspection of the agency took place over two days. On our first day we looked at documents held at the agency's office and spoke with the provider. The documents included policies and procedures, visit schedules and records related to the care and support people received from the agency. We also telephoned and spoke with 15 people or their relatives to obtain their views about the service the agency provided.

On the second day we visited four people in their own homes to obtain their views. We also looked at records kept by the agency in people's homes and where appropriate observed the help people received.

Everyone we spoke with was complimentary about the care workers and told us they received all the help they required. They said care workers never missed a visit and were usually punctual.

A senior practitioner employed by a local authority Adults Services said. 'Like any agency they have their hiccups and occasional grumbles but nothing sticks out. Our service users are generally satisfied with the care the agency provides. There are no serious complaints or safeguarding matters'.

The provider had arrangements in place that ensured consent was obtained for the care and treatment people received; people's prescribed medication was managed safely; there were enough staff on duty at all times with the skills and experience to meet people's needs; the quality of the service was monitored and improved and when necessary notifications were sent to CQC.

14 March 2013

During a routine inspection

At the time of our inspection Abacus Care Bournemouth provided support and personal care to around 46 people who lived in their own homes. The help that people received was provided by 20 care workers.

We were accompanied by the provider when we visited two people in their homes. We also contacted five other people by telephone to get their views about the service.They included a relative, a social care professional and a local authority contracts officer.

People we spoke with who received a service and/or their relatives told us that care workers were polite and respectful. They told us the same group of care workers visited them regularly, were generally on time and provided all the help and support people needed.

We saw that the provider had procedures in place that ensured people who used their service would be protected from harm. The provider also had suitable recruitment procedures in place and arrangements that ensured care workers received training that enabled them to provide the help people needed.

The provider had a system of audits/checks in place to monitor the quality of service provision. These included satisfaction surveys.

Records we looked at were clear, accurate and up to date. The provider had suitable procedures in place about record keeping and management.

The provider had not notified us of a matter as they are required to under the law.

10 January 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We did not obtain people's views about the service at this inspection. We met with people who use the service at our last inspection in November 2011. We included information about what they told us in our last report.

18 October 2011

During an inspection looking at part of the service

As part of our review of Abacus Care Bournemouth we visited four people who use the service, and their relatives, in their own homes. We also talked with two people who use the service by telephone.

The comments we received indicated that, on the whole, people had confidence in their care workers to meet their needs. People told us that their care workers treated them with kindness, respect and dignity.

People told us that the agency provided them with a flexible and responsive service, for example, changing the times of their visits where possible to meet their wishes. They felt that the service was reliable and there was good communication between themselves and the provider about their care. They told us that they felt able to contact the provider at any time with concerns and that he would respond to this.

Some people told us that, although care workers aimed to work in a person-centred way, care records did not always contain enough detail about their needs or how they were to be met. People also said that, although they were generally confident that medicines were given by care workers as prescribed, there had been occasions where this had not happened.

Although the people we talked with commented positively on the service they received, we identified continued concerns during our inspection in relation to the management of medicines and staff recruitment procedures. Records in relation to people's medicine needs were not always accurate or comprehensive and it was not clear that they always received their medicines as prescribed. Records held by the agency in relation to care workers contained gaps in information which meant that it was not always clear that full and appropriate checks had been carried out before they started work. This meant that people who used the service were not always protected against the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care.

11 February and 10 May 2011

During a routine inspection

People told us that they were given choices about day-to-day issues in relation to their care. However there were other areas where more effective consultation was needed. For example, one person told us that they had been receiving a service from the agency for some time before they were consulted about their care plan. Two relatives of people who use the service told us that they had been consulted about the care given to their family member but the relatives of another person had not received any contact from the agency. One person also told us that they had felt put under pressure by a care worker to sign their care plan when they had wanted the opportunity to read it through first.

People told us that they had a care plan which they could access in their home. One person, who told us that their care plan was very comprehensive, was not confident that all the care workers who visited them had read the plan. A relative of a person who uses the service told us that they felt their family member might benefit from a more detailed care plan as they were not always able to tell care workers what they needed and it was not always clear from daily records what care workers had done to support them.

People gave varied responses to the competence of care workers who visited them. Some expressed confidence in their care workers while others indicated there were inconsistencies in practice, for example in relation to good hand hygiene, medication and the application of creams and lotions. Although people told us that they felt their care workers generally did well in meeting their needs, some people felt that training for care workers could be improved to promote consistency of care.

People were satisfied with the co-ordination that went on between the agency and other services to ensure their needs were met.

People reported that they were aware that the agency had difficulties recruiting staff. They told us that they always received their visits but the timings of these visits might change when there were staff shortages.

Most of the people we spoke with told us that they felt there was good communication between themselves and the provider and that he took on board their comments about the service. We heard that people would have no hesitation in raising concerns with the provider if they needed to. They had confidence that he would act appropriately to resolve their concerns.

People were aware of the records that were kept in their home although one person highlighted that information in their records was inaccurate and needed to be changed.