Archived: Apex Prime Care - Worthing

Updated 29 October 2016

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 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.

This inspection took place on 29 September 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

One inspector undertook this inspection.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the provider’s website and registration information. We used this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

We visited the office where we met with the deputy manager. We looked at care records for four people, medication administration records (MAR) and visit record sheets. We also reviewed four staff training, supervision records and recruitment files, minutes of meetings, staff rotas and compliments received by the service.

We visited three people in their homes and met with three care workers. We telephoned four people and two care workers after the visit to ask for their views and experiences. We also contacted a social worker to ask for their views and spoke with the registered manager and provider’s trainer by telephone.

Prime Care Community Services Limited – Worthing was registered on 22 August 2016 after the service was taken over by a new provider. This was the first inspection of the service.

Updated 29 October 2016

The inspection took place on 29 September 2016 and was announced.

Prime Care Community Services Limited – Worthing is domiciliary care service that provides support to people in Worthing and the immediate local area. At the time of our visit the service was supporting 24 people with personal care.

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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

When there were changes in people’s care and support needs, these were communicated quickly and effectively to staff. We found, however, that records had not always been updated to reflect the care being delivered. This, along with incomplete information in some staff records, was an area requiring improvement.

People spoke highly of the service. They told us that they enjoyed good relationships with the staff who visited them and that they would recommend the service. When we visited people in their homes, we observed that they enjoyed warm and friendly relationships with staff.

People received a safe service. Staff understood local safeguarding procedures. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and reviewed. People received their medicines safely and at the right time.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and to offer flexibility if a person needed to change their call time. People appreciated the continuity in the staff who visited them and staff understood how people wished to be supported.

People had confidence in the staff who supported them. Staff received training to enable them to deliver effective care.

Staff understood how consent should be considered in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff supported people to prepare meals and to eat and drink if required. Where people could benefit from additional support, referrals were made to other healthcare professionals such as the GP or community nurses.

People were involved in planning their care and determining how they wished to receive support. Staff supported people to be as independent as they were able and were mindful of their privacy. People told us that staff treated them respectfully.

People felt able to contact the deputy manager if they had concerns and said that they received a quick response. People knew how to make a complaint.

The deputy and registered managers monitored the quality of the service and used feedback from people and staff to identify improvements and act on them. Senior staff carried out spot checks on care workers to monitor the delivery of care.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.