Prime Care at Home Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.
 

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.
People told us they were involved in planning their care needs. One person told us, “[The registered manager] pops out to see how I am getting on. They ask me how I am, are the carers doing everything for me, do I need any more help with anything, and they update all my paperwork.” A relative said, “The care plan is always updated and if there is any issue we can get changes made. We update one another in between calls if needed, they are easy to get in touch with.”
People received consistent care that met their needs. People’s communication needs were known and details of what helped people to communicate well and understand their care had been included in their care plans. Staff were knowledgeable on people’s care needs and what they told us about people needs had been reflected in their care plans.
 

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.
People and relatives told us staff followed advice from other professionals involved in their care. For example, one relative said, “I see the staff at lunchtime, and they act on any advice and follow the care plan. [My family member] can be very difficult now with eating and staff liquidise all their food and use thickener. All the staff are very confident at following their swallowing plan.”
When people received support with their meals and drinks, details were in their care plans. Staff told us how they would help to promote people’s nutrition and hydration. For example, one staff member told us, “I make sure people have plenty to drink and leave them with drinks.”
People’s care was planned in line with evidence based good practice. Staff were confident in caring for people’s health needs. They described how they had been trained to understand people’s specific health conditions. The details staff told us they had learnt had been included in people’s care plans.
 

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.
Feedback from other healthcare professionals who worked with people was positive. One healthcare professionals told us, “During a recent assessment the person’s regular carers were present and actively supported the process. They demonstrated a good understanding of the person’s needs, circumstances, functional abilities and preferences which was helpful in ensuring a comprehensive assessment.”
Records showed staff worked to support people when they were discharged from hospital. For example, extra calls were arranged to support one person return home following an operation. Staff had shadowed the existing sleep-in staff before the person’s operation to be able to provide the extra calls and ensure continuity.
 

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.
People were supported to manage their health and wellbeing. Staff told us if people were not feeling well or if they noticed changes that could indicate health concerns, for example, sore skin, they would report this so appropriate follow up health care could be arranged. Records showed how this had been arranged. For example, when a person was unwell and unable to attend the GP surgery in person, staff arranged for the person to receive a telephone appointment with the GP instead.
 

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.
People and relatives had confidence staff monitored and acted on any health concerns. For example, one relative said, “Staff do all [my family member’s] skin creams, and they report any concerns they notice. They noticed a mark on their foot, and I know they passed it onto the next staff member who came, as they knew to check on it again. We worked out their socks were too tight; staff were on it.”
Staff told us how they ensured people’s healthcare was monitored. One staff member told us, “We do skin checks on most calls, most calls are personal care calls and if we notice something we act straight away. I will ask and let the office know. We have to take a picture at every call and there are instructions there as well; its good communication.” These practices helped to ensure people received positive and improved health outcomes.
 

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.
People and relatives told us staff worked well with people and worked at their own pace to ensure their involvement. One person told us, “Prime Care always shadow new carers - they don’t just send a new carer in. I'm a bit funny about new carers doing my personal care, so they shadow the same carer twice until I feel okay.” A relative said, “Staff always consider [my family member] and involve them and talk to them nicely.”
People’s rights were upheld and people consented to their care choices. Staff told us how they would always ask people how they wanted things to be done and asked them how they could help. For example, one staff member told us, “I always ask people how they would like things, I’ll ask, ‘do you want me to cut it up?’.”