6 January 2016
During a routine inspection
We visited the offices of Quality Assured Care Services on 6 January 2016. We told the provider before the visit we were coming so they could arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.
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.
People felt safe using the service and care workers understood how to protect people from abuse and keep people safe. There were procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care and for managing people’s medicines safely. Care workers were properly checked during recruitment to make sure they were suitable to work with people who used the service.
The provider and registered manager understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and care workers respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
There were enough care workers to deliver the care and support people required. People had consistent care workers who stayed long enough to complete the care people required. People told us care workers were friendly and caring and had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Care workers received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively.
Care plans contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the personalised care people required. People knew how to complain and information about making a complaint was available for people. Care workers said they could raise any concerns or issues with the managers, knowing they would be listened to and acted on.
There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people and staff, returned surveys, spot checks on care workers and a programme of other checks and audits.