Background to this inspection
Updated
29 November 2022
The inspection
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
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
Prime Healthcare Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service two working days' notice of the inspection because the service provides care to people in their own homes and we wanted to make sure that management were available on the day of the inspection site visit. s
We visited the office location on 21 October 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection
During the site visit we met and spoke with the registered manager.
We viewed a range of records. We looked at care records for five people and a sample of medicines records. We also looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment, training and support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures were reviewed.
The majority of people who received care from the service were not able to speak with us. We therefore spoke with people’s relatives. We spoke with eleven relatives. We also spoke with four care workers and we obtained feedback from one care professional.
Updated
29 November 2022
About the service
Prime Healthcare Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people of different abilities. The services they provide include personal care and medicines support. At the time of inspection, the service provided personal care to 18 people. The Care Quality Commission (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.
People’s experience of using this service:
Areas of potential risks to people were not always identified and appropriate risk assessments were not always in place. Some risk assessments lacked detail. This could result in people receiving unsafe care and we found a breach of regulation in respect of this.
Care support plans included information about information about people's medical background and social history. However, the information included in people's care plans was task-focused and lacked person centred guidance. We have made a recommendation in respect of this.
Recruitment processes helped to ensure that care workers assessed as safe to work with people were employed.
Appropriate medicines management and administration processes were in place.
People were protected from abuse. Staff had received training on how to safeguard people and were confident that if they raised any concerns with the registered manager, appropriate action would be taken.
Staff followed infection prevention and control guidance to minimise risks related to the spread of infection.
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.
Feedback obtained from relatives was generally positive. They told us they were confident that people were safe in the presence of care workers. They told us that care workers were caring, kind and respectful. People’s privacy, dignity and independence was respected and promoted.
There was a complaints policy and procedure in place.
Staff told us they were well supported by management. They were confident that the registered manager would listen and address any concerns if they raised them.
The service had introduced a system in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided to people. However, this had not yet been embedded in practice. We found that the service had failed to identify deficiencies we found in relation to risk assessments and have made a recommendation in respect of this.
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 service was registered with us on 5 January 2022 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection to review the key questions, Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led and rate this service.
The inspection was prompted because the service has not had an inspection and a rating since it was first registered with us.
Enforcement and recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.
We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified one breach in relation to safe care and treatment at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.