Archived: Able2Care Ltd

Updated 25 January 2017

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 the 5 January 2017. It was carried out by one inspector.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is small and we needed to be sure that relevant staff were available.

Before the inspection the registered manager completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the PIR and at all the information we had collected about the service. This included previous inspection reports and information received from health and social care professionals. We also looked at notifications the service had sent us. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We spoke with the registered manager, the nominated individual and two members of staff in person. We received telephone feedback from four people and two relatives of people who use the service. We also received feedback from one care staff and two health care professionals.

We looked at three people’s records and documentation that was used by the service to monitor their care. In addition we looked at four staff recruitment files and staff training records. We also saw a range of other records used to measure the quality of the services.

Updated 25 January 2017

This inspection took place on the 5 January 2017 and was announced.

Able2Care Ltd is a small domiciliary care agency. Care and support is provided to people in their own home to promote their independence and well-being.

The service had a registered manager. 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 told us that they felt safe with staff and would be confident to raise any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures were mostly thorough and medicines were managed safely. There were sufficient staff to provide safe, effective care at the times agreed by the people who were using the service.

There were procedures in place to manage risks to people and staff. Staff were aware of how to deal with emergency situations and knew how to keep people safe by reporting concerns promptly through processes that they understood well.

Staff received an induction and spent time working with experienced members of staff before working alone with people. The induction process corresponded with the 15 standards that health and social care workers need to complete during their induction period. Staff were supported to receive the training and development they needed to care for and support people’s individual needs.

People and their families were complimentary of the services provided. The comments we received demonstrated that people felt valued and listened to. People were treated with kindness and respect whilst their independence was promoted within their homes and the community. People received care and support from familiar and regular staff and would recommend the service to other people.

People’s needs were reviewed regularly and their care and support plans promoted person-centred care. Up to date information was communicated to staff to ensure they could provide the appropriate care and support for each individual. Staff knew how to contact healthcare professionals in a timely manner if there were concerns about a person’s wellbeing.

The provider had a system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received and identified areas for improvement.