Background to this inspection
Updated
11 June 2021
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period of notice for the inspection site visit. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 10 May 2021 and concluded on 21 May 2021. We visited the office location on 13 May 2021.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed the last inspection report and all the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the relatives of two people who had used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and one person’s medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
Updated
11 June 2021
About the service
Advanced Personnel Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting three people, all of whom received personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Relatives told us that staff cared for people safely and knew their needs and preferences well. Systems and processes were in place to ensure people were protected from avoidable harm, and staff understood what signs to look for that harm may be occurring and how to report their concerns.
Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and guidance was in place for staff about how to support people safely.
Measures were in place to manage the risks of COVID-19 including policies and risk assessments. Staff told us they had access to sufficient PPE and had received training on how to keep themselves and others safe from the risks of COVID-19.
Where people were supported to take their medicines, processes were in place to ensure this was done safely. Staff were trained and had their competency checked before administering medicines.
Improvements to recruitment practices had been made and appropriate checks were made to ensure, as far as possible, only suitable staff were employed.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Relatives told us that staff appeared to be well trained and had the skills and knowledge to provide effective care. Staff confirmed they received training of a good quality and felt supported by the registered manager and the provider.
The service worked well with other health and social care providers to ensure people received appropriate care.
The registered manager and the provider had made improvements and there was now strong systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and identify areas for improvement.
The registered manager sought the views of people who used the service, their relatives and staff and took action to address any concerns that arose. There was an open culture at the service which encouraged learning and continuous improvement.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 03 September 2019) and there were two breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 14 August 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements, and Effective which was previously rated Requires Improvement.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Advanced Personnel on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.