The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Milestones Homecare and Dementia Service (MHADS)

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Bristol Dementia Care Centre, Brentry Lane, Bristol, Avon, BS10 6NA (0117) 958 1510

Provided and run by:
Milestones Trust

All Inspections

6 October 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 6 October 2015 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours notice of the inspection. This was to ensure that people who used the service were available to meet with us and also that the registered manager and staff were available. The service was last inspected in May 2015 and met with legal requirements at that time.

There was a registered manager for the service. 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.

There was no system to quality audit whether people were supported to take their medicines safely. This meant there was no assurance that medicines were managed in a safe way.

Potential new staff were regularly being interviewed by one member of the management team. This meant there was a risk that unsuitable people may be recruited, if one member of staff made the decision who to appoint.

Staff were not being consistently monitored and supervised in their work. This meant there was no assurance staff were always providing effective care and support.

The quality checking system for auditing the service was not being used properly. There was a risk that the quality of care and overall service was not safe and suitable.

People told us that all of the staff who visited them were kind, caring and respectful to them. People were supported by staff who were trained to understand their needs.

People felt that their care needs were well met by the staff and they spoke highly about the care and support from them. Examples of comments included, "They all go that extra mile for you” and “They do what I want in the way that I want ".

People had been involved in planning the care and support they received. Care records were informative and they explained what actions to follow to assist people with their care needs.

Peoples views were sought by the provider about the way the agency was run .People knew how to make a complaint about the service the agency provided if they needed too.

There was an online system in place to monitor peoples visits and the reliability of the service that staff provided.

21 May 2013

During a routine inspection

We met two people who used the service and five relatives to find out their views.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. Some people had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences. We relied on discussions with relatives and with staff to understand the experience of care for people who the agency provided a service for.

There was satisfaction expressed by people who used the service and relatives.

Examples of comments people made included, 'they are very good', 'the staff have been proactive'. Other comments included 'I've been very pleased with them', and 'the staff have a good old natter about life in general', and 'I find them a very flexible service'.

Peoples' care plans contained information to guide staff to know what actions were needed to effectively assist them with their care needs.

People were protected from abuse because the provider had systems in place to minimise risks and to protect them from harm.

People were supported by staff whose work was being monitored and who were properly supervised to ensure they were providing suitable care.

The quality of the services people received was being monitored and checked. People would benefit if there was a formal system in place to review the patterns and trends of the service provided. This would improve the overall quality of the service and make best use of this information.

30 October 2012

During a routine inspection

During our visit we did not speak to people who used the service. This was because the people the agency supported were living with dementia. However, we spoke with eight relatives of people who received a service. We also spoke with five members of care staff and three senior staff at the office including the registered manager and the newly appointed manager.

Relatives of people we spoke with told us that the service people received from the agency was reliable and that the care workers always turned up for their visits. They told us that the agency involved the people who were being supported in an assessment of their needs.

We saw that care plans contained clear guidance for staff on how to support the person to meet their assessed needs. They also included people's preferences.

Relatives told us that care staff would let them know if they were going to be late for an appointment. They also said that the agency was flexible when they asked to move visit times due other health appointments.

Staff told us that they were well supported in their roles and had regular supervision meetings with senior staff. Training records we saw showed that staff received regular appropriate training relevant to the needs of the people they were supporting.

People's relatives told us that the care staff were excellent. One person said they were 'absolutely wonderful' another said 'they (the agency) seem to get the right people to work for them'.