Background to this inspection
Updated
22 May 2015
We carried out 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 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.
This inspection took place on 24 March 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The service met the requirements of the regulations during the previous inspection which took place on 4 September 2013.
The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an expert by experience who contacted people by telephone after the inspection to gather their views of the service. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Before we visited the service we checked the information that we held about it, including notifications sent to us informing us of significant events that occurred at the service.
We spoke with 20 people using the service, five relatives, and eight staff including the team leader. We looked at 12 care records, four staff files and other records related to the management of the service including, training records, safeguarding records, audits and complaints. We contacted health and social care professionals to ask their views about the service following the inspection.
Updated
22 May 2015
This inspection took place on 24 March 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The service met the requirements of the regulations during the previous inspection which took place on 4 September 2013.
Plan Care Putney is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care for people in their own homes. It has a contract with four local authorities who commission services from it, Wandsworth, Merton, Richmond and Ealing.
There was a registered manager at 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.
People using the service and their relatives told us they were satisfied with the care they received from the provider. They told us that care staff had a caring attitude and took care of their personal care needs. People told us staff asked their permission before supporting them and offering them choices with regards to what they would like to eat and wear. They also told us they felt safe in the company of the care staff and if they had any concerns they would not hesitate to raise it with either the care staff or the managers.
Robust recruitment checks were completed on potential applicants and new employees completed a four day induction, introducing them to the company and to the role requirements, including person centred care, safeguarding and health and safety. Staff also completed and demonstrated their competency in supporting people with medicines and safe moving and handling. Staff told us they were satisfied with the quality of training delivered and people also told us that the care staff were competent in carrying out their duties.
An assessment of people’s needs was completed prior to care starting which included risk assessments and finding out peoples preferences and what they hoped to achieve from the service. Care plans were developed and reviewed regularly thereafter and people’s views were sought.
People that we spoke with highlighted that communication from the office could be improved, especially in the case of missed or late visits which was a recurring theme in our conversations with people.
Quality monitoring visits were completed, either through unannounced spot checks of telephone calls to people. Feedback surveys were also sent to people to gather their views of the service.