We carried out a review of the data available to us about Portfolio Homecare 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 Portfolio Homecare Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Not everyone using Portfolio Homecare Limited received a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection 97 people were in receipt of the regulated activity personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and staff supported them the way they liked it. Relatives were positive about how staff helped to keep people safe whilst maintaining their dignity.
Some relatives shared that they sometimes struggled to effectively communicate with some care workers whose first language was not English. The provider had identified this and had paired staff up with a strong co-worker with good communication skills and enrolled staff on an English language course.
People and relatives told us staff were punctual. Some people were not aware they had an allocated time for the care workers to arrive, but all people we spoke with were satisfied with the service provided.
People told us staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with current guidance.
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 14 September 2018)
Why we inspected
We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about staff ability to communicate clearly with people who use the service, timing of care calls and dignity. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains good.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
At our last inspection in June 2017 we rated the service Good. This inspection was undertaken as a result of some concerns that had been shared with us. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It is registered to provide a service to older adults some of whom may live with dementia, younger adults with physical or sensory impairments and people with mental health conditions. Not everyone using Portfolio Homecare receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection 47 people were in receipt of the regulated activity personal care.
There was a manager in post who had registered with the CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 receiving care and support from Portfolio Homecare Limited. Staff understood how to keep people safe and risks to people's safety and well-being were identified and managed. People's needs were met by sufficient numbers of skilled and experienced staff. The provider operated robust recruitment processes which helped to ensure that staff employed to provide care and support for people were fit to do so. People's medicines were safely managed.
Staff received one to one supervision from a member of the management team which made them feel supported and valued. People received support they needed to eat and drink sufficient quantities and their health needs were well catered for with appropriate referrals made to health professionals as needed.
People and their relatives complimented the staff team for being kind and caring. Staff were knowledgeable about individuals' care and support needs and preferences and people had been involved in the planning of their care where they were able.
The provider had arrangements to receive feedback from people who used the service and their relatives about the services provided. People were confident to raise anything that concerned them with staff or management and were satisfied that they would be listened to.
The provider and registered manager had developed an open and respectful culture in the service and people, their relatives and the staff team were comfortable to speak with the registered manager if they had a concern. Arrangements were in place to regularly monitor health and safety and the quality of the care and support provided for people who used the service.
Portfolio Homecare is a small independently run domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 86 people received personal care from this agency.
There was a manager in post who had registered with the CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
At our previous inspection in August 2016 people told us that staff did not always arrive on time to provide their care and they did not always know which staff member was coming to support them. We had also found that best interest protocols had not always been followed for people who lacked capacity to help ensure that decisions were made in their best interests. At this inspection we found that there was an electronic monitoring system in place that was monitored by staff at the agency office and at the provider’s head office to help ensure people received their care calls at the allotted time. People’s care was delivered in line with their agreement and consent. There was evidence to confirm where people’s relatives had the legal authority to make decisions on people’s behalf and it was documented where decisions had been made in conjunction with relatives in people’s best interests.
People felt safe and were happy with the care and support they were provided with in their homes. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and knew how to report concerns both within the organisation and externally if necessary. Recruitment practices were safe and effective to help ensure that all staff were suitable to work with people in their own homes.
People who used the service and their relatives were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of the staff team. Staff told us they received training and regular updates which helped them to develop their knowledge and skills to support people effectively. Staff had regular supervision and told us they felt supported by the registered manager.
Care was provided in a way that promoted people’s dignity and respected their privacy. People received personalised care and support that met their needs. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s background histories, preferences, routines and personal circumstances.
Staff established what people’s wishes were and obtained their consent before providing personal care and support, which they did in a kind and compassionate way. People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about the staff and the way in which they delivered care. People were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. People’s personal information was securely maintained within the office.
People, their relatives, and staff were satisfied with how the service was run and operated. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of services provided and spot checks were carried out to observe the quality of the care provided by care staff.
At our last inspection on 04 June 2013, the service was found to be meeting the required standards in the areas we looked at. Portfolio Homecare is a small independently run domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes.
The manager in post had started the process to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
There was an electronic monitoring system that was audited regularly to ensure people received their care calls. However, people did not always receive their calls on time and we found that people did not always know which staff member was coming to support them.
People who had received a capacity assessment and found to be lacking the capacity to make decisions had not been provided with a best interest meeting to ensure decisions were made in their best interest.
People felt safe and were happy with the care and supported in their homes. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and knew how to report concerns both within the organisation and externally if necessary. Recruitment practices were safe and effective to help ensure that all staff were suitable to work with people in their own homes.
People who were being supported by the service and their relatives were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of staff who worked in people’s homes. Staff told us they had training and regular updates which helped them develop their knowledge and skills to support people effectively. Staff had regular supervisions and told us they felt supported by the manager.
Care was provided in a way that promoted people’s dignity and respected their privacy. People received personalised care and support that met their needs. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s background histories, preferences, routines and personal circumstances.
Staff established what people’s wishes were and obtained their consent before providing personal care and support, which they did in a kind and compassionate way. People and relative’s we spoke with were positive about the staff and the way in which they delivered the care.
People were involved in the planning and reviews of the care and support provided. Care plans were written and reviewed by people or their rightful representative. People’s personal information was securely maintained within the office.
People, their relatives, and staff were complimentary about how the service was run and operated. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of services provided. The manager told us regular spot checks were carried out to observe the quality of the care provided by staff and check staff`s competencies.