Archived: Admirals Care Agency

Updated 16 March 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was 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.

This inspection visit took place on 8 February 2017. The inspection visit was announced two days before we visited so we could be sure the manager was available to speak with us. The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at information received from statutory notifications the provider had sent to us and information from the commissioners of the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Commissioners are representatives from the local authority who find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority.

We spoke with the registered manager who was also the provider and only member of staff. We spoke with one person who used the service. Because some people were unable to talk with us due to their complex care needs, we asked their relatives to provide us with feedback on the care their relation received. We spoke with three people’s relatives.

We reviewed two people’s care plans to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We checked whether any new staff would be recruited safely. We looked at other records related to people’s care and how the service operated.

Updated 16 March 2017

We inspected Admirals Care on 8 February 2017. The inspection visit was announced two days before we visited so we could be sure the manager was available to speak with us. This was the first time the service had been inspected.

Admirals Care is registered to provide personal care and support to people living in their own homes. There were eight people using the service at the time of our inspection visit. Of the eight people who used the service, only five people received personal care. The other three people received support with domestic tasks. The service offered support to people dependant on their specific needs, some people received one call a day; other people received four calls each day.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection visit who was also the provider and the only member of staff. We refer to the registered manager as the manager in the body of this report.

The manager had received training in safeguarding adults and understood the correct procedure to follow if they had any concerns about people’s safety. All necessary checks were in place to ensure any newly recruited staff were safe to work with people. The manager identified risks to people who used the service and took action to manage identified risks and keep people safe.

Although the manager worked alone, there was enough time for them to care for people safely and effectively. People were supported by someone who knew them well. There were contingency plans in place to ensure people continued to receive their care, if the manager was absent from work.

The manager planned induction procedures for all new staff, which adhered to recommended guidance on induction and training for staff working in the care sector. The manager planned and attended training to keep their skills up to date.

People’s care was planned with them and with the support of their relatives. This helped to ensure care matched people’s individual needs, abilities and wishes.

The manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure people were looked after in a way that did not inappropriately restrict their choices and freedom.

People described the manager as being caring and kind. They respected people’s decisions to make their own choices and supported people to maintain their independence.

People were supported with their health needs and had access to a range of healthcare professionals where a need was identified. There were systems in place to administer medicines safely. People were supported to prepare food that took account of their preferences and nutritional needs.

People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Quality assurance procedures were being developed to ensure the quality of the service was maintained. There were plans and procedures in place to ensure any accidents or incidents were recorded and investigated, so that actions could be taken to minimise the risks of a re-occurrence.