The Care Quality Commission
  • Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Archived: Advance Healthcare (UK) Limited

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Chase Chambers, 25-27 Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 1AP (01543) 469002

Provided and run by:
Advance Health Care UK Ltd

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

All Inspections

15 January 2016

During a routine inspection

We inspected this service on 15 January 2016. This was an announced inspection and we telephoned the provider 48 hours’ prior to our inspection to ensure someone would be at the office and to arrange home visits with people who use the service. Our last inspection was carried out in September 2013 and the provider was meeting the legal requirements at that time.

Advance Health Care UK Limited provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes in Cannock and the surrounding areas. At the time of our visit, 42 people were receiving a service. 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.

Improvements were needed to ensure people's care plans were updated promptly when their needs changed.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe with staff. Staff recognised their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and were confident the registered manager would take action if they raised any concerns. People were protected against the risk of abuse, as checks were made to confirm staff were of good character to work with people in their own homes. Sufficient staff were available to meet people's needs.

Staff received effective training and support which enabled them to meet people’s individual needs. Staff told us they felt valued and supported by the management. People received their medicine and were supported to apply any creams they needed. Staff supported people to manage their health care.needs and ensured they were referred to health care professionals if their needs changed. People’s needs and preferences were met when they were supported with their dietary needs.

Staff sought people’s consent before providing people with care and support and understood their responsibilities to support people to make their own decisions. Staff treated people in a caring way, respected their privacy and promoted their independence.

People told us they were involved in planning their care and were happy with how the staff supported them. Most people had a regular team of staff who knew people well and had the skills to meet their needs. People were supported to follow their hobbies and interests.

The registered manager carried out checks to ensure people received a good service.  People knew how to raise a complaint and were encouraged to give their feedback on the service. People were satisfied that their concerns were acted on.

11 September 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service, two relatives, three members of staff and the registered manager.

People told us their needs were being met and their care was delivered in the way they preferred. One person told us: "My carer is very good. I don't have to tell her what to do. She knows what to do and gets on with it. She is very pleasant'.

We found people who used the service were supported to manage their medication safely because staff were given clear instructions, support and guidance.

People told us that care and support was provided by skilled staff who knew them well. There were effective processes in place to ensure staff were suitably trained and supported.

We found that the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

21 August and 13 September 2012

During a routine inspection

During our visit we spoke with the registered manager. We also spoke with staff present at the office on the day of our inspection. After the inspection we contacted a number of people who used the service, their relatives and professional workers, to obtain their views about Advance Healthcare (UK) Ltd and the service they provide.

People using the service and their relatives told us they were generally happy with the service they received and the staff who worked with them.

Staff we spoke with told us they received appropriate training to undertake their work competently and received appropriate support from the management team.

25 January 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We undertook this visit as we had not visited for some time. We visited to check that people were being cared for safely.

People we spoke with were happy with the quality of support they received. Most people told us that care workers generally came at the correct time and provided them with the support they wanted. Two people said that the visits could sometimes be late. Some people said they did not have regular care workers meaning that they did not get to know their care workers. People were complimentary about the care workers. Comments included, "'Happy with the carers" and "The girls are very good'.

We saw that everyone had an assessment before the service started. Some of these had gaps in them and needed to be further developed. Plans of care were in place and these were of a varying standard. Some were very comprehensive identifying all areas of need, whilst others did not provide specific information about the care to be provided. Care plans were not signed to show that people agreed to the care to be provided. Plans of care were reviewed and included the views of people using the service and where appropriate, relatives.

Some people were having support to have their medication. People said that the care workers gave them their medication. However the medication records were of a poor quality and did not show evidence that people were having their medication as prescribed.

The service had a number of systems in place to monitor the care and support people received. Checks we made showed that these systems were not always picking up issues that needed to be addressed to make sure people were receiving the service as outlined it the plan of care.