Updated 27 March 2019
The inspection: We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is 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.
Inspection team: This inspection was conducted by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type: PBL Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community.
The service is required to have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission, and there was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection: We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the provider delivers a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes, and we needed to be sure that someone would be available in the office.
What we did when preparing for and carrying out this inspection:
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included information about incidents the provider must notify us of, such as any allegations of abuse. We sought feedback on the service from the local authority and local Healthwatch.
Prior to our 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 took this information into account during the planning of our inspection of the service.
During the inspection, we visited the provider's main office to review documentation and speak with staff and management. Following this office-based inspection visit, the Expert by Experience contacted people and their relatives by telephone to obtain their feedback on the service.
We spoke with three people, three people's relatives, three community health and social care professionals, the registered manager and the provider's quality assurance manager. We also spoke with the provider's care coordinator, three senior care staff and two care staff.
We reviewed a range of records. These included five people's care files, accident and incident records, complaints records, medicines records and two staff recruitment records. We also looked at staff training records and records associated with the provider's quality assurance activities.