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Archived: City Personal Assistant Service Also known as Personal and Community Support Services Personal Assistant Services City

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

c/o Ipswich Road Community Hub, 120 Ipswich Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 6QS (01603) 458643

Provided and run by:
Independence Matters C.I.C.

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

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Background to this inspection

Updated 28 June 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 was an announced inspection and took place on 9 June 2016 and was undertaken by one inspector. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and the registered manager is sometimes out of the office and we needed to be sure that they would be in.

Before the inspection we looked at all of the information that we had about the service. This included information from notifications received by us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We also looked at the provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we visited the service’s office and looked at three people’s care records and we spoke with three people supported by the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, two team managers, five care staff and one relative. We saw records in relation to people’s support, the management of the service, the management of staff, and recruitment and training records. We also spoke with a care manager, a physiotherapist, a psychiatrist and a manager of a local supported living service all of whom had regular contact with the service.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 28 June 2016

City Personal Assistant Services is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes and in supported living premises. There were seven people receiving personal care from the service when we visited. The inspection took place on 9 June 2016. We gave the provider 48hours’ notice before we visited to ensure that the registered manager was available to facilitate the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Staff were knowledgeable about reporting any suspicions of harm to people. There were a sufficient number of staff and recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable staff were employed. Risk assessments were in place and actions were taken to reduce identified risks.

There were effective procedures in place to ensure that people were safely assisted with their medicines.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and report on what we find. Staff we met were able to demonstrate a good understanding of MCA. This meant that any decisions made on people's behalf by staff would be in their best interest and as least restrictive as possible.

Staff were supported and trained to do their job and additional training was provided for specific care needs to be fully met. The team managers and support staff were in contact with a range of health care professionals to ensure that people’s care and support was well coordinated. Risk assessments were in place to help ensure that care and support could be safely provided.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected and their support was provided in a caring and a patient way.

People were supported, where required, to ensure they ate and drank sufficient quantities. People had the choice to eat the food they preferred and healthy eating was promoted by care staff.

Care and support was provided based on people’s individual personal and social care needs. There was a process in place so that people’s concerns and complaints were listened to and these were acted upon.

The provider had quality assurance processes and procedures in place to monitor the quality and safety of people’s care. People were able to make changes and to the support and care provided to them by the service.