Archived: Suite 3.2

Pure Homecare is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to 34 people aged 18 and over at the time of the inspection.

CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

The service was committed to providing exceptional person-centred care. People spoke highly of the support provided by care staff. Staff went above and beyond to ensure people led enriched lives and received individualised care and support. The management team were fully committed to continuous professional development of staff. Staff were recruited and trained with consideration of people’s diverse cultural and communication needs.

People, their families and staff worked collaboratively to develop detailed support plans that reflected the wishes and preferences of the person using the service. Advanced online computer systems were in place to update support plans in ‘real time’ as required. People and their families had access to online computer systems that allowed them to review all aspects of the care provided, including detailed records of tasks completed during care calls, carer profiles, medications, care planning documents and risk assessments.

Staff training was developed in partnership with people, their families and other professionals. Client-specific training was developed for people with multiple medical or psychological conditions, learning disabilities or a combination of conditions. People, their families, professionals and staff caring for the person all attended the training together. This ensured that everyone involved understood the needs of the person and their preferred way of receiving support. People, their relatives and staff told us they found this bespoke training informative and said it accurately reflected the individual receiving support.

The service employed a nurse to enable work with people with complex medical conditions. The nurse had clinical oversight of people’s cases, provided practical training and supervision for staff providing their care and helped to develop training packages for the service.

People told us they felt safe using the service. People felt the management team at the service was approachable and would respond to any issues or concerns raised. People told us the staff were well-trained to perform the assigned tasks. People appreciated having consistency of staff and described having good relationships with their care staff. People described their care staff as ‘gentle,’ ‘respectful,’ and ‘polite.’

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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 19 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Pure HomeCare is registered to provide personal care and support for people living within their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 72 people using the service. People's packages of care varied dependent upon their needs. There were 69 staff employed.

This was the first inspection of the service since re-registered at this location in April 2015.

Pure HomeCare 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.

People’s safety and welfare was promoted by staff that had received training and understood their role in protecting people from risk. Safety and welfare was further promoted through the assessment and on-going review of potential risks to people. Where risks had been identified measures had been put into place, which included the use of equipment to reduce the likelihood of risk and were recorded within people’s records and understood and implemented by staff.

The investment by the provider of I.T. systems was used to promote people’s safety, by recognising when staff had arrived at a person’s home. Should staff be delayed then an alert was generated which ensured action was taken. The system helped to ensure people were safe and confident that their care would be provided.

Staff upon their recruitment had their application and references validated and were checked as to their suitability to work with people, which enabled the provider to make an informed decision as to their employment. Staff underwent a period of induction and training. Staff were introduced to people whose care and support they would provide. Training provided to staff and their understanding of their role and responsibilities meant people were supported appropriately with all aspects of their care, which included support with their medicines.

People’s needs were effectively communicated, recorded and understood by staff that helped to ensure their needs were met. People’s care and support needs were electronically stored and staff used mobile devices to record the care and support provided. The IT systems also alerted staff should people not receive the care and support as detailed within the care plan, or when changes to people’s needs were made. This helped to ensure people’s care was monitored and that appropriate actions were taken to meet people’s needs.

Staff understood the importance of seeking people’s consent prior to providing care and support. Staff were aware of people’s rights to make decisions and were able to tell us how they encouraged people to express their opinions on their care and support. Staff liaised with health care professionals and kept in contact with people’s family members where they had concerns about people’s health. People received support with the preparation, cooking and eating of meals where needed to ensure people’s nutritional needs were met.

People’s records, including their care plans had been developed with the involvement of themselves or their relatives and provided information for staff about the person. The information was used to develop positive and professional relationships when delivering personal care and support, reflective of people’s wishes and preferences. People and their relatives in the main spoke positively about the attitude and care of staff, with many stating they received support and care from a consistent group of staff. Where changes to the staff involved in delivering people’s care had resulted in concerns being expressed, we found the care manager had taken action to further improve the continuity of care staff and had liaised directly with people or their relatives.

The open and innovative approach adopted by the management team, meant people using the service and their relatives had access to information using a range of methods and systems. This was reflected in people’s comments and the information we obtained by speaking to staff members in a range of roles. The provider’s commitment to the continual development of the service and its aim to continually improve the quality of care it provided meant the provider continued to invest and identify areas for further development and improvement, which included investment in staff training, career development and the use of technology.