Archived: Prospect Tree Health Care East Limited

There were 60 people receiving personal support from the agency at the time of this inspection. We spoke with 12 people who used the agency and one relative, seven care staff, the rota co-ordinator, the manager and the provider.

People told us that they were asked for their consent before staff provided personal care. One person said, 'Staff always ask me what they can do for me and they leave me when I want to do something by myself.' However, we found that In some instances people were not consulted when changes were made to the support provided.

We looked at the care planning system and found that people's needs had been assessed. However, the agency did not always follow the care plans to ensure people's needs were met. All of the people we spoke with said they were happy with the support they received.

We looked at medication training, policies and procedures. We found that the medicine management system in place was not effective.

We looked at staff numbers and rotas. We found that there were not enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff employed by the agency to meet people's needs.

We looked at care plans and daily records. We found that overall the information recorded needed to be reviewed and updated.

We spoke with six care workers who offered support to the people we spoke with. They told us that they provided the care that people wanted and they really enjoyed working for people in their own homes. One member of staff said 'I usually look after the same people and we get to know each other very well,' and another said 'We know when they need a bit of extra help.'

We looked at care plans for the people we spoke with and found them to include relevant information about their support needs and how the service was meeting them.

We looked at staff files and training records for the care workers we spoke with and found that two of them had not attended training in moving and handling and infection control. However, they were able to demonstrate a good understanding of the use of gloves and aprons and were supported by staff who had attended training when hoists were used.