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Archived: Focus Care Services - Huddersfield

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

14 The Creative Lofts, 15 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 1DT (01484) 515332

Provided and run by:
Focus Care Services Limited

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

29 September 2016

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 29 September 2016 and was announced. The last inspection was in 2013 and the service was compliant with the regulations at that time.

Focus Care Services is a registered domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. The office base of the agency is situated close to the town centre of Huddersfield. At the time of our inspection there were five people who used the service for the regulated activity of personal care.

There was a registered manager in post. 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's safety was considered and there were detailed risk assessments in people's care records for staff to understand how to support people safely.

Safeguarding procedures were known by staff and staff were confident to use whistleblowing procedures to report any poor practice. The safeguarding information available to staff contained internal details of how to report concerns, although contact information for safeguarding authorities was not immediately available.

Staff completed regular training and there was regular monitoring of staff competencies; staff were encouraged to reflect upon their practice and consider areas for development.

People's mental capacity was considered and their rights and choices were respected.

Staff had a caring attitude and approach to their work, they valued one another and they had a positive attitude towards ensuring people's privacy and dignity was respected.

Care plans were person centred, with regular reviews of people's care and evidence of people's involvement.

Complaints and compliments were appropriately managed with positive comments fed back to staff.

The registered manager promoted a culture of transparency and openness and aimed to ensure a quality service was delivered to people.

15 October 2013

During a routine inspection

During our inspection we spoke with the manager at the agency's offices. They told us they did not have any people using the service who had daily visits any more. They said the agency only provided a supported living service. At the time of our inspection the agency had six people using the service that received personal care.

The manager explained that all of the people using the service lived in their own homes and staff from the agency provided 24 hour care and support. The agency did not provide people's accommodation; rent was paid to landlords that were not associated with the service.

The manager told us the agency had 'An abundance of staff'. They said they had 56 staff on their books; many of which had jobs elsewhere and worked for the agency either part time or on an 'as and when' basis. The manager told us the agency also had many full time staff that had been supporting the same people for several years.

Following our visit we spoke with one support worker and one relative.

The support worked told us they felt communication could be improved between the office staff and the care staff. They said 'If people's care needs change we should be kept in the picture'. They also said 'If we have a problem we can ring the office; they usually help sort things out'.

The relative told us 'My brother seems quite happy; that's the main thing. We have had issues in the past, mainly about cleanliness, but they seem to have sorted that out now. I was there last night and it all looked clean'.

The support worker and the relative told us the communication from the office about the staffing rotas could be improved. The support worker told us 'The rotas are sent out in the post; sometimes the people get the rotas before we do'. The relative confirmed this and told us 'Sometimes they are a bit slack about sending out the rotas then we don't know which staff are coming'. They said 'They do seem a bit disorganised sometimes'.

13 February 2013

During a routine inspection

At the time of our inspection the agency was supporting 12 people, with some of them receiving personal care as part of their supported living arrangements. We spoke on the telephone with four people who were receiving personal care, but others declined to speak to us.

Before people received care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. People told us they were involved in their care and felt that staff respected their opinions and decisions.

Each person had a care file which identified their needs as well as their preferences and any risks associated with their care. The people we spoke with said they were happy with the care and support they received. One person told us, 'They look after me well.'

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Staff told us they had attended training on this topic and had access to protective clothing such as aprons and gloves.

Checks had been carried out on staff before they started to work at the agency to make sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. This included ensuring they underwent a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Most people we spoke with said they had not raised any complaints, but they said they would talk to staff if anything was concerning them. One person told us when they had raised minor concerns these had been addressed quickly and to their satisfaction.

14 February 2012

During a routine inspection

People who use the service told us that care staff arrived on time and stayed for the time that had been agreed. If they were going to be a little late then they would let them know.They said that the carers were good and always carried out the care that had been agreed in their care plan.

People told us the staff respected their privacy and dignity when carrying out their care and were sensitive to their needs.

We spoke to two people who were receiving a personal care service and their comments include:

'The staff are really grand and have really helped me. They have improved my quality of life'.

'The staff are very good and do their best'.

'The staff do what has been agreed and do more than they should sometimes'.

'The person in charge is a very good manager'.

People said if they had any concerns they knew who to contact and had confidence in the service.