Archived: Strand Nurses Bureau

Strand Nurses Bureau is a domiciliary care service which provides nursing care and personal care services to people living in their own homes. There were 25 adults and eight children using the service when we visited.

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

Risk assessments and care plans contained detailed information for care staff. All records were reviewed within six months or sooner if people’s needs changed.

Care staff assisted people to take their medicines safely. Care workers and nurses told us they had completed medicines administration training and understood how to safely administer medicines.

Safeguarding adults and children from abuse procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people they supported. Staff had received safeguarding adults and children training and were able to explain the possible signs of abuse as well as the correct procedure to follow if they had concerns.

Staff demonstrated a good level of knowledge about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People signed their care records to indicate that they consented to their care and mental capacity assessments were conducted prior to providing care.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of people’s life histories and current circumstances and supported people to meet their individual needs in a caring way. Care records contained detailed information about people’s needs and preferences.

Recruitment procedures ensured that only staff who were suitable, worked within the service. There was an induction programme which included shadowing for new staff, which prepared them for their role.

Care workers were provided with appropriate training to help them carry out their duties. Care workers received regular supervision and appraisals of their performance. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs and visits were appropriately arranged to ensure people’s needs were met.

Care workers supported people to maintain a balanced nutritious diet and care records documented this. People were supported effectively with their health needs, when needed and were supported to access a range of healthcare professionals.

People, their relatives and staff gave positive feedback about the registered manager and told us they provided feedback about the service. They knew how to make complaints and told us they felt listened to. There was a complaints policy and procedure in place.

The organisation had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager reviewed various areas of the service on a regular basis and further, regular auditing was conducted by nurse assessors within the organisation. Information was reported to the CQC as required.

Relatives of people using services told us staff were "very good" at involving people in their care and tried to accommodate people's requests and preferences. They told us staff respected people's right to refuse care and treatment. People's relatives told us their needs were assessed regularly and the care plan updated with any changes. We saw staff met with people to review their needs and to ensure the support provided met the needs.

People were supported to take their medication. Staff were trained to ensure it was administered in accordance with the person's wishes and the provider's policy. Relatives of people using the service told us staff had the skills needed to look after the person and there were always sufficient staff in attendance. We saw staff were trained to meet the individual needs of people.

Records were stored securely and were readily available. Systems were in place to ensure confidential personal information was managed appropriately and there was restricted access to the provider's IT system.

The service had robust recruitment processes in place which safeguarded people using the service. Telephone interviews with staff told us that they understood their responsibilities and felt well supported and trained by the service.