Archived: Angel Human Resources (Hammersmith)

Updated 14 May 2016

We conducted 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 registered 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.

The inspection was carried out on 26 February 2016 and was announced. The inspection team comprised two adult social care inspectors. At the time of the inspection one person used the service.

Prior to the inspection we looked at information we held about the service. We reviewed any notifications sent to us by the provider about significant incidents and events that occurred at the service, which the provider is required by law to send us. Before the inspection we asked the provider to complete 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 spoke with the relative of the person who used the service, the care co-ordinator and two care staff. We were not able to speak with the person who used the service due to their health care needs. We read the care file for the person who used the service, which included their care plan, risk assessments and any incidents and accident forms. Documents relating to the management and running of the service were checked, which included staff recruitment and training, and quality audits.

We contacted the local authority safeguarding team as part of the inspection to check if they had any concerns about the provider, and none were identified.

Updated 14 May 2016

Angel Human Resources (Hammersmith) is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide personal care for people in their own homes.

The inspection was carried out on 26 February 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be certain that someone would be in. This was the first inspection of the service since it registered in February 2014.

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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The person who used the service was not safely supported to take their medicines due to a lack of current information and guidance about their prescribed medicines within their care plan. The care staff and the care co-ordinator demonstrated their understanding of how to recognise and report any abuse they became aware of or witnessed. Risks to people’s safety were identified and actions to mitigate these risks were recorded, in order for the person who used the service to pursue their interests in the community and be as independent as possible.

Safe recruitment procedures were used for selecting and appointing new staff, and there were sufficient staff to meet the person’s needs. Arrangements were in place to manage planned and unplanned staff leave.

Staff had received appropriate training to meet the needs of the person who used the service, but did not receive regular formal one-to-one supervision to support their practice, performance and development. Care staff understood how to protect the person’s human rights and make sure that no undue restrictions were placed upon them. The person who used the service was supported to eat a healthy diet and access health care from medical and health care professionals.

The person who used the service was supported by care staff who understood the importance of ensuring the person was given choices and cared for in a kind and respectful way that promoted their dignity. Staff provided appropriate support to enable the person to lead a fulfilling life and take part in meaningful activities that met their social, emotional and spiritual needs.

The person’s needs were assessed and reviewed as required. The care plan did not accurately reflect the personalised care that the person’s relative and the provider informed us about. The person’s relative confirmed that they had been given information about how to make a complaint and were confident that the provider would respond in a professional manner to any concerns or complaints.

The relative told us they were asked for their views about the quality of care and thought the provider acted on their opinions. The provider did not have a system in place to formally record the views of people and their relatives, apart from the annual review meeting, and the quality of the service was not checked through spot checks, monitoring visits or the auditing of daily care records written by care staff.

We made recommendations in relation to the lack of personalised care planning and the absence of a system for checking the daily care records. We found three breaches of regulations in regards to accurate documentation of prescribed medicines within the care plan, formal one-to-one supervision of staff and monitoring visits to the person’s home by the provider. You can see what actions we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the inspection report.