Archived: Mayfair Homecare - Portsmouth

Mayfair homecare is a provider of community home care services, supporting 135 people within the Portsmouth area.

The service had 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 of the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This was Mayfair Homecare’s first inspection since registration. We made a recommendation during this inspection that the provider ensure documentation surrounding people’s ability to consent to their care in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 be reviewed.

Documentation relating to people being able to consent to their own care was not always present in care plans. Where people were not able to sign their consent forms due to lack of capacity, Lasting Power of Attorney (LPoA) documentation was not always available in people’s care plans even though relatives had signed on the person’s behalf. The registered manager agreed to retrieve the correct documentation during our inspection and began to rectify this issue immediately following our discussion.

Medicines were safely managed in accordance with the provider’s policy and staff had received training and competency assessments prior to being able to administer medicines to people.

There were enough staff deployed to support people safely and the provider completed robust recruitment checks to ensure the right staff were employed to care for people. Innovative recruitment practices had been implemented to encourage new staff to join the provider workforce.

Infection control practices were followed and staff received training in this area to ensure that people were safe from the spread of infection.

Risk assessments were completed to identify and manage risks to people and staff to keep them safe.

Staff gave good examples of how to recognise the signs of abuse and who to report any concerns to. Staff were aware of the whistleblowing policy and felt confident that any concerns raised would be dealt with effectively.

Lessons learned from incidents were discussed with staff at team meetings to ensure best practice was followed and learning was shared with all staff to prevent reoccurrence.

Staff received an initial induction, training and shadowing opportunities as a new member of the team. The provider offered mandatory, annual refresher training to ensure their staff maintained the appropriate skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively. Supervision, spot checks and annual appraisals were provided for staff and staff were offered other training opportunities to develop professionally if they wished. Staff achievements were recognised with an annual awards ceremony.

The service had implemented ‘diversity Thursday’ where staff were encouraged to embrace different cultures represented within their own teams. This was part of the wider ‘Wellbeing Framework’ which included tackling loneliness amongst people using services within the community, a ‘disability confidence scheme’, ‘Armed Forces covenant’ and subscription to ‘The Care Workers Charity.’

People were supported to maintain adequate nutrition and hydration where required and where health or social care support was necessary, this was arranged. The management team had established good working links with the local authority safeguarding and social work teams to ensure that their working relationships were transparent and open.

Care workers and office staff provided compassionate and kind care to people. Fundraising was an ongoing endeavour to provide events for people to tackle loneliness and promote inclusiveness. Dignity and respect for people and improving the quality of lives for service users and their families was a major aspect of the new ‘Wellbeing Framework’.

End of life care and support was not only provided to people using the service, but to their families and those who were significant to the person. Care plans for those at the end of their lives were taylor made for the individual and people and their relatives were encouraged to contribute and make decisions that affected the care and support they received.

People received personalised care and support in accordance with their needs and wishes. Care plans were reviewed periodically and adjusted according to people’s changing needs. The care plans contained information relating to people’s preferences and their social history so as to offer a holistic view of the person.

Complaints were received and dealt with effectively and were reflective of the provider’s complaints policy.

People and staff gave positive feedback about the management team. Staff felt able to go to the registered manager with any concerns and they would be listened to.

The service encouraged feedback from people and conducted annual surveys which were sent out from head office and analysed. Any areas of improvement required were then forwarded to the registered manager and regional manager to implement change. The service completed weekly reports and audits to ensure the smooth running of the service and to establish any areas for improvement locally.

The service promoted an open, compassionate culture with people and staff at the centre. Wellbeing was at the forefront of the service and was encouraged and developed by the management team.