30 December 2015 and 6 January 2016
During a routine inspection
Prestige Nursing – Denton is a domiciliary care agency based in Newhaven. They provide support and care for 42 older people living in their own home in Newhaven, Seaford and Peacehaven. Some people need support with personal care and assistance moving around their home, due to physical frailty or medical conditions, others were at risk of falls.
There had been no registered manager at the agency since May 2015. A manager had been appointed and had applied to register at the time of the inspection, but is no longer managing the agency. 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.
This inspection took place on the 30 December 2015 and 6 January 2016 and was announced.
There were systems in place to keep people safe and people told us they felt safe and happy. However, we found there were areas that required improvement with regard to the administration of medicines, staffing and record keeping and, how these were managed by the provider. This showed that the provider’s assessment and monitoring of the quality of the services provided by the agency was not effective.
People said staff provided the support they needed. One person told us, “I think everyone is very friendly and approachable. The carers are lovely and really caring.” Staff attended relevant training and they had a good understanding of people’s individual needs. They were clear about their roles and responsibilities and, felt they were supported by the management through the supervision programme.
People were supported by experienced staff and, robust recruitment and selection processes were in place. Relevant checks were carried out before staff started working for Prestige Nursing – Denton to ensure only those suitable were employed.
Assessments were carried out to identify people’s support needs before the support started and these had been agreed with people, or their relatives, to ensure the agency provided the care they needed. Care plans identified people’s specific needs; these included risk assessments for the home’s environment, people’s mobility and the support they needed. For example, aids like hoists.
Risk had been assessed to ensure people were able to take risks. Staff provided support if required, such as assisting people to keep mobile with the use of mobility aids and, where appropriate additional support was provided to enable people to go into the town safely. There was guidance for staff to follow, staff knew people really well and they had a good understanding of people’s individual support needs.