Archived: Vital Healthcare Services Limited

Updated 22 July 2016

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 23 May and 3 June 2016. The first visit was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people the service supported. We checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people being supported had been received. We also spoke with one of the authorities that commission services from Vital Healthcare.

During our inspection we visited the offices of Vital Healthcare where we looked at the care records of five people, training and recruitment records of six staff members and records relating to the management of the service. We visited three people in their own home accompanied by a member of Vital Healthcare staff. People were not able to speak with us about the care and support they received but we carried out informal observations when visiting people in their home and spoke with three family members. We also spoke with the registered manager, and a member of the senior management team.

Updated 22 July 2016

This inspection took place on 23 May and 3 June. 2016. The first day of our inspection was unannounced.

The service provides personal care and support for adults with learning difficulties, mental health needs and complex care needs in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 27 people were being supported.

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.

The provider did not have good oversight of the service. Internal audits and quality assurance processes were still being developed and errors and omissions identified by us during the inspection had not been identified and addressed by the service.

The service had been supported by the local authority to improve the quality of care plans. We were concerned that the lack of management oversight would result in this improvement not being sustainable.

People were supported to make choices and were involved in the care and support they received. Staff were trained and supported so that they had the knowledge and skills to enable them to care for people in a way that met their individual needs and preferences. Care plans were very detailed and contained people’s likes, dislikes and their preferred routines. There were a range of risk assessments in place to manage and reduce risk to people from receiving care and support and from the activities of daily living. The provider was taking the appropriate action to protect people's legal rights.

People were protected from abuse by staff who had been trained to recognise abuse and were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and reporting procedures. People received care from a small group of care staff who knew their needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed.