We carried out a review of the data available to us about Apex Prime Care - Newhaven on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Apex Prime Care - Newhaven, you can give feedback on this service.
Apex Prime Care - Newhaven is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to older people, people with mental health conditions, people living with dementia and physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 77 people using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People, staff and relatives were positive about the management of the service and felt involved and listened to by the registered manager. Some quality assurance processes were effective in identifying areas for improvement and showed actions taken as a result of issues identified. However other aspects of quality assurance such as risk assessments and documents relating to medicines required improvement.
People received safe care and support from staff that knew them well. People and relatives we spoke to told us there were enough staff to support people. Staff understood how to keep people safe and how to raise concerns about people's safety. Risks to people were safely managed but some people's care plans needed more detailed guidance around risks.
People were supported to receive their medicines by staff that had been trained to administer them. However, further consideration was needed to how people received their medicines that were taken on an as and when needed (PRN) basis.
Staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when supporting people and followed infection prevention and control procedures.
The culture of the service was person-centred, and people told us that staff supported them to increase their independence. Health professionals that regularly worked with the service were positive about staff's involvement and support of people. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 30 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We carried out a focused inspection of the key questions safe and well led to check the rating of the service remained accurate. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Apex Prime Care - Newhaven on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This comprehensive inspection took place on 13 and 21 July 2017 and was announced. It was the first inspection to be carried out since the service was taken over by Apex Prime Care in October 2016.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
There were some areas of quality assurance where further development was needed and we made a recommendation about monitoring documentation.
People told us they had continuity of carers. They said staff arrived on time and stayed for their allocated time. They told us staff always completed the tasks required of them along with any additional requests. For example, one person told us “They are nice girls, make the effort and always ask if I need anything.”
People told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. They said they were looked after well and staff listened to them. A relative told us, “Staff are polite and have a good attitude to their work.” People knew how to complain if they needed to.
There were good systems for the management of medicines. These ensured people received support in a safe way. There was information in care plans about how people liked to take their medicines. Care staff had received training on medicines and there were systems to monitor their competency in this area.
Staff attended regular supervision meetings and told us they were very well supported by the management of the agency. Spot checks were carried out to monitor staff performance. Staff meetings were used to ensure staff were kept up to date and to hear their views on day to day issues. Staff attended regular training to ensure they could meet people’s needs. There was a thorough induction to the service and staff felt confident to meet people’s needs before they worked independently.
The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA and DoLS are regulations that have to be followed to ensure people who cannot make decisions for themselves are protected. They also ensured people were not having their freedom restricted or deprived unnecessarily.
Care plans gave staff detailed advice and guidance on how to meet people’s needs. People told us they had been involved as part of the process. Care plans were reviewed regularly and as and when people’s needs changed. If professional advice and support was sought then this was included within the documentation. Feedback from professionals who had contact with the agency was very positive. One professional told us “Staff are pleasant, they enjoy what they do and they are well supported by management.”
Risk assessments were carried out in relation to people’s homes and to their individual needs and where necessary actions were taken to mitigate risks to reduce the risk of accidents or injuries.