Background to this inspection
Updated
1 July 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.
At the time of this inspection there were 95 people receiving personal care from AJ Social Care Recruitment Limited. Before the inspection, the provider completed a 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 improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR and other information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications that had been sent to us. We contacted the local clinical commissioning group, two local authorities and Healthwatch for feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
The inspection took place between Tuesday 17 May and Friday 20 May 2016 and was announced. We told the provider on Friday 13 May we would be visiting the provider’s office on 17 May 2016. They were given notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office. An adult social care inspector, a specialist advisor in governance and an expert-by-experience carried out the inspection. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
We spoke on the telephone with ten people who used the service, six relatives and ten care workers between 17 and 20 May 2016. We visited the provider’s office and spoke with the registered manager, community care manager, two care co-ordinators and a senior care co-ordinator, and spent some time looking at documents and records that related to people’s care and support and the management of the service. We looked at four people’s care plans.
Updated
1 July 2016
This inspection took place between 17 and 20 May 2016 and was announced. At the last inspection in February 2015 we rated the service as requires improvement. We found the provider was breaching three regulations. People were not always protected against the risks of receiving care that was inappropriate or unsafe, and it was not clear in the care plans we looked at if the rights of people who lacked the mental capacity to make decisions were respected. Suitable arrangements were not in place to ensure staff were appropriately supported in relation to their responsibilities. At this inspection we found the provider had taken action to address the concerns raised at the last inspection and made improvements.
AJ Social Care Recruitment Limited is registered to provide personal care to people in their own home in the Leeds and Wakefield districts. At the time of the inspection, the service had a registered manager. 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.
People who used the service and the relatives we spoke with told us the agency was well managed. Everyone said they would recommend the service to others. We received positive feedback from two local authorities. One described the service as ‘excellent’.
People who used the service and their relatives told us the safety of the service was good. They told us staff provided appropriate support when they administered medicines. However, when we looked at how medicines were managed we found this was not always being done safely and sometimes people did not receive their medicines as prescribed.
People who used the service and their relatives were mainly positive about the staffing arrangements although three people commented that sometimes different care workers visited. They said staff arrived on time but if ever they were running late they received a call from the office. People told us they found office staff helpful, and felt comfortable contacting them if they wanted to discuss anything. People told us they did not have any complaints about the service.
People consented to and made decisions about their care. Where a person lacked mental capacity; assessments for specific decisions had been completed. People we spoke with were complimentary about the care workers who visited them. They described them as “lovely”, “polite”, “very good” and “very nice”. People had care plans that usually identified how their care needs should be met. Their preferences, likes and relationships were incorporated into their care plan so staff knew what was important.
Staff were confident people received good care. They told us their colleagues were caring and treated people with respect. Staff were supported to do their job well because they received appropriate training and supervision.
People who used the service, relatives and staff provided feedback about their experience through surveys. We saw a recent survey showed 98% of customers were satisfied with the service. Staff received a ‘daily communication’ email and various team and management meetings were held. Opportunities for care workers to attend meetings were not regular so opportunities for team discussions were limited.
The provider had an effective system for monitoring the quality of the service. They supported and worked alongside other care providers by sharing information on hot topics such as recruitment and retention.
We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.