Nu-Staff Image Plan Limited

Nu-Staff Image Plan Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 30 people were receiving care and support from the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe and well supported. Care was well planned, visits were organised and care was responsive to people’s individual needs. Staff knew people well and understood and respected their choices and preferences.

The service supported people to access healthcare services and were encouraged to be involved in decisions about their care. Partnerships with other agencies and health professionals enabled effective outcomes for people.

Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Risks to people were assessed and regularly reviewed. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood their role in identifying and reporting any concerns of potential abuse or poor practice.

People and relatives told us they could confidently raise any concerns, and these were addressed appropriately.

There were sufficient numbers of trained, experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed, and appropriate checks completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. Staff received induction and on-going training and support that enabled them to carry out their roles positively and effectively.

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. People, and where appropriate their relatives, were involved in decisions about their care.

Governance systems and oversight of the service was robust. Issues were identified, and actions taken to address any shortfalls.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 30 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Nu-Staff Image Plan Limited provides care and support for people who live in their own homes. The majority of people using the service are older people. The office is located in Winton, Bournemouth and provides services in and around the local area. There were people 65 using the service when we inspected.

The service has 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.

The provider had safeguarding policies and procedures in place. All staff received safeguarding adult's training to raise awareness of how to recognise signs of potential abuse and poor practice and what actions they would need to take. Staff told us they were confident in their understanding of abuse and how to report any suspected abuse.

The service operated safe recruitment practices to ensure staff were suitable for their role. People's needs were understood and met by sufficient numbers of skilled and experienced staff.

People were protected from the risk of harm. The provider assessed any identified risks to people and put measures in place to minimise them.

All staff had been suitably inducted into the service and relevant training had been provided to enable them to safely support the people using the service.

People told us that staff treated them with dignity and respect. People and relatives were involved in the development of care plans and were able to express how they preferred to received care.

Care plans were detailed and informative. People's specific care needs were met during each planned visit. Staff were supportive in helping people to maintain their independence as far as was practicable.

People were always asked for their consent before their care and support was offered. Care staff and the management team had received training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and understood its principles.

All staff were aware of their responsibilities when supporting people with their medicines. Training in medicine management had been provided and the necessary records were being kept.

Staff told us they felt well supported by the registered manager and provider. Supervision and appraisal sessions had not been consistently completed. However the registered manager had taken steps to address this immediately.

People using the service and their relatives knew who to speak to if they wished to make a formal complaint or were unhappy with the service they received.

The provider had quality assurance and data management systems in place to ensure quality of service provision.