Apollo Care (South Wirral)

Updated 11 July 2018

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 was 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 31 May and 15 June 2018; the first day was unannounced and the second day was by arrangement. The inspection was completed by an adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider 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 information the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had received about the service including notifications received from the registered manager. We checked that we had received these in a timely manner.

We also contacted the local authority quality assurance team for their feedback.

We visited four people who received care from the organisation. We looked at their care plans and spoke with them about the support they received. We also spoke with one person’s relative. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager.

We also looked at the staff files of three members of staff and documents relating to the medication administration, health and safety, staff rostering and the management of the service.

Updated 11 July 2018

This inspection took place on 31 May and 15 June 2018. The first day of the inspection was unannounced when we visited the organisation’s office; the second day was by arrangement as we visited four people in their homes who were happy to speak with us about the care they received.

Apollo Care South Wirral is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to 30 people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults in the geographical area of South Wirral.

The service required and 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.

During our previous inspection in November 2016 we had found a breach of regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The overall rating for the service was ‘requires improvement’. Following the inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions; ‘Is the service safe?’ and ‘Is the service well-led?’ To at least a rating of good.

At the previous inspection we saw that systems had not always been followed to ensure that staff had been safely recruited. At this inspection we saw that there had been improvements in this area and the service was compliant with all the health and social care regulations. The breaches we identified in October 2016 had been addressed, the overall rating is now ‘good’.

People and their relatives told us that they felt safe with the care provided by Apollo Care South Wirral. One person told us, “Their support helps me to stay at home and feel safe.” People’s care needs were assessed and the times of calls were arranged with them. People told us that the service they received was reliable and flexible to their needs. People told us that the service could be relied upon. If an unforeseeable event occurred and the carer was going to be more than fifteen minutes late the person was contacted by telephone and if needed an alternative carer was arranged.

The service had enough staff to meet the needs of the people supported. Staff told us that they had sufficient time for travel in between calls and to give people the full allocated time for their call. This meant that staff were not rushed and helped to ensure that staff had time to give people the care and support they required.

To ensure the quality of care provided to people the registered manager arranged for unannounced spot checks to be completed

There were procedures in place at the service to safely recruit new staff members. Staff also received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults as part of their initial training along with periodic refreshment of this training. People received their medication in a safe manner.

We saw that appropriate risk assessments were in place in people’s care files for different aspects of people’s care. The registered manager kept a record of any accidents, incidents or near misses. The record of incidents was detailed and we saw examples of when incidents had been learnt from, information fed back to staff members and actions taken to keep people safe.

Staff members told us that they felt effective, enjoyed and were well supported in their roles. New staff received a thorough induction which included training, reviewing the policies of the service and shadowing an experienced member of staff for a period of time. Staff received training that was appropriate to their role. Staff praised the quality of the training and training opportunities available to them.

People told us they felt well cared for by staff who were kind and patient. There was a caring culture within the service. One person told us, “I don’t know what I would do without them. I look forward to them coming, I enjoy their company and know them off by heart.”

Staff were vigilant to people’s health needs and made appropriate referrals. People were safely supported with their eating and drinking if they needed support with this. We saw that people’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff and in the way their service was delivered.

Each person had a care plan that was individualised and contained specific guidance on their needs, preferences and how to keep the person as safe and healthy as possible. People were involved in writing their care plan. We saw that people’s care plans were regularly reviewed with them and that on occasions these reviews had led to changes being made to the care plan in response to people’s feedback. When we visited people, we saw that their care plans reflected the care they needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People told us that they were listened to by staff.

The registered manager was knowledgeable about people’s support and care needs. She was friendly and showed a personal interest in people. There was a positive culture in the office and amongst staff members. To ensure the quality of care provided to people the registered manager arranged for a series of audits to check the quality and safety of the service being provided. The registered manager also communicated with people making visits to their homes, along with using newsletters and questionnaires.