Archived: AJ Social Care Recruitment Limited - 4225 Park Approach

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.

People's needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. The care plans were written in a person centred way and described the likes and dislikes for each person.

We spoke with 18 people who used the service and care workers during our visit, comments included:

'Very reliable staff, always on time, they never let you down.'

'Staff are very polite, my Mum has a routine and a care plan and they write in it every time they come.'

People who used the service were complimentary about the staff. Their comments included:

"Can't thank (name of staff) enough she's been brilliant.'

We saw documentary evidence had been provided to show evidence of identity. Records of Criminal Record Bureau checks were available and held securely.

People's personal records including medical records were accurate and fit for purpose.