Acerta24

Updated 22 March 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

A single inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. Inspection site visit activity started and ended on 13 February 2019. We visited the office location on this date to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about this service. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection we spoke to the registered manager, managing director and owner. We looked at records, including two people’s care records, four staff files and other records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures.

After the inspection we spoke to the two people using the service and asked them for their views about the service. We also received additional information from the provider, including follow up information requested about the care and support provided to people, service policies and procedures, the staff handbook and the service user guide.

Updated 22 March 2019

About the service:

Acerta24 is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to two people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were satisfied at the time of the inspection with the support they received from Acerta24. The provider made sure, wherever possible, people received support from the same staff. People told us they felt safe with staff. They said staff were kind, able to meet their needs and supported them in a dignified, respectful way which maintained their privacy. Staff supported people to be independent by encouraging them to safely do as much for themselves as they could.

People were involved in planning their care and support. The provider listened to people and took their views, choices and decisions into account when planning and delivering the care and support they needed. The provider made sure there was current and relevant information for staff about how these needs should be met. People’s care and support was reviewed with them by the provider to make sure this was continuing to meet their needs.

Staff sought people’s consent before providing any support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were enough staff to support people. The provider undertook checks on staff before they started work to make sure they were suitable. Once in post, staff received relevant training to help them meet people’s needs. They were supported in their role by senior staff to continuously improve their working practices.

The provider had systems in place to protect people from injury or harm. All staff were trained to safeguard people at risk and to report abuse and/or discriminatory practices or behaviours that might cause people harm. Risks to people had been assessed and staff were provided guidance on how these should be minimised to keep people safe. The provider had systems in place to record and investigate any accidents and incidents that occurred, which included keeping people informed and involved in case they were harmed as a result of their care. Staff followed good practice to ensure risks were minimised from poor hygiene and cleanliness when providing personal care and when preparing and handling food

Staff documented the support provided to people which kept others involved in people’s care up to date and informed. They monitored people’s health and wellbeing. When staff had concerns about this they reported these to the relevant healthcare professionals. Staff worked closely with other healthcare professionals to ensure a joined-up approach to the support people received.

People knew how to make a complaint if needed and the provider had arrangements in place to deal with this. People spoke positively about senior staff and described them as accessible and supportive. The provider had aims and standards for the service and told people what they should expect from staff and the service in respect of the quality of care they received. There was a clear management and staffing structure in place and all staff had clearly defined duties and responsibilities. The registered manager understood their legal responsibilities regarding the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The provider sought people’s views about the quality of care and support provided and how this could be improved. They used this information along with other checks of the service to monitor and review the quality and safety of the support provided. Any shortfalls or gaps identified through these checks were addressed promptly.

The provider worked in partnership with other agencies to develop and improve the delivery of care to people. They worked with the authorities funding people’s care, so they were kept up to date and well informed about people’s care and support needs.

The service meets the characteristics of a good service and therefore we have rated them ‘Good’ overall and for all five key questions, ‘Is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?’

Rating at last inspection:

Although the service has been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since September 2014, the provider did not start continuously operating the domiciliary care element of the service until October 2018. This is the first comprehensive inspection of the service since registration.

Why we inspected:

We normally inspect new services within 12 months of them registering with CQC. However, Acerta24 were not consistently providing personal care to people during that period so we could not inspect the service. We continued to monitor and review the status of the service and once we received confirmation from the provider that they were now providing personal care to people, we scheduled a comprehensive inspection to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned in line with our inspection schedule or in response to concerns.