We carried out a review of the data available to us about Private Personal Assistance Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Private Personal Assistance Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Private Personal Assistance is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care, support with domestic tasks and socialising in the small town of Sedbergh and surrounding rural areas.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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. At the time of our inspection 31 people were receiving the regulated activity.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported by a small team of regular staff who they knew well. The provider who is also the registered manager carried out checks on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in people's homes.
People received the right level of support they needed to take their medicines. The staff were trained in how to provide people's care in a safe way. Staff told us their training was ‘good’ and they could ask for any support or specific training.
People received the help they needed to enjoy their meals and drinks. The senior care staff assessed the support people required on a regular basis to ensure the service provided was suitable to meet their needs.
The staff included people in decisions about their care and respected people's rights. 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.
Staff treated people in a kind and caring way. People valued the service and the support the staff provided. The staff treated people with respect and supported them to maintain their independence and dignity.
The service was responsive to people's needs. The agency was committed to providing the support people needed to stay in their own homes. Where people requested changes to their support the agency was flexible. People received care and support that was person-centred.
The staff knew people well and provided support to meet people's needs and respected their wishes. People knew how they could raise any concerns and were confident the provider would resolve any issues they raised. The service worked well with other agencies and provided the support people and their families needed as individuals reached the end of their lives.
This was a small service and the provider worked with the staff team to provide people's care. This gave the provider a good oversight of the safety and quality of the service. People knew the provider well and told us they were comfortable speaking to her. The provider used formal and informal ways to gather people's feedback and used this to improve the service they received.
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 17 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.
Private Personal Assistance is a small domiciliary care agency based in the market town of Sedbergh. It offers a range of services for people in their own homes. The service provides support with personal care and domestic tasks to help maintain independence for people living in Sedbergh and around the surrounding rural areas.
There was a registered manager in post on the day of our inspection visit. 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. In this service the registered manager is also the registered provider.
At our last inspection visit in December 2015 we made two recommendations relating to the management of records for the administration of medications and one about updating policies and procedures for recruitment and induction training. We found during this inspection that these recommendations had been implemented by the registered provider.
We found that people who used this service were safe. The staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff had completed training in the safety of vulnerable adults and knew the signs to look for and how to report any incidents of concern.
We saw that recruitment procedures were robust this ensured only suitable people worked in the service. We saw that staffing levels according to the rotas were good throughout all areas of the service. Staff training was up to date. We saw that staff were supported by the management team through regular staff supervision and appraisals.
We saw that medicines were administered safely and records were updated regularly. Staff who were responsible for the administration of medications had completed the appropriate training.
We found that the service worked very well with a variety of external agencies such as social services, occupational therapists, other care providers and mental health professionals to provide appropriate care and support to meet people’s physical and emotional needs.
People received support from a regular team of staff who they knew well and who understood the care and support they required. We saw that people were treated with kindness, dignity and respect and they made very positive comments about the staff who visited their homes.
Support was given in a manner to people to promote their independence for example supporting them to join in with activities in the community.
The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves. Best interest meetings were held to assist people who were not always able to make difficult decisions for themselves and where relevant independent advocacy was arranged.
Private Personal Assistance is a small domiciliary care agency based in the market town of Sedbergh. It offers a range of services for people in their own homes. The service provides support with personal care and domestic tasks to help maintain independence for people living in and around the surrounding rural areas.
There was a registered manager in post on the day of our inspection visit. 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. In this service the registered manager is also the registered provider.
We found that not all the information relating to the administration of medications had been recorded accurately in some people’s care records. Staff who were responsible for the administration of medications had completed the appropriate training.
We found that people who used this service were safe. The staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff had completed training in the safety of vulnerable adults and knew the signs to look for and how to report any incidents of concern. There were good systems in place to ensure people knew the staff that supported them.
We saw that recruitment procedures were robust this ensured only suitable people worked in the service. We saw that staffing levels were good with a number of flexible part time staff supporting the registered manager and care manager. Staff training was up to date. We saw that staff team were supported by the management team through regular staff supervision, appraisals and team meetings.
We found that the service worked very well with a variety of external agencies such as social services, other care providers, local GP’s and community nurses to provide appropriate care to meet people’s physical and emotional needs.
Observations made during our inspection showed people were given choices about how they wanted to be supported and how they wanted to live their lives. We also saw how relevant others had been involved in deciding the level of care and support required.
The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves.
People received support from a regular team of staff who they knew well and who understood the care and support they required. We saw that people were treated with kindness, dignity and respect and they made very positive comments about the staff who visited their homes.
We recommended that the provider ensured the records relating to the administration of people’s medications were accurate and reflected their current needs.
We recommended that the provider updated their recruitment and induction training policy to reflect their current procedures.