Access24 Health and Medical Services Ltd

Access24 Health and Medical Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency registered to offer support and personal care to older and younger adults with dementia, brain injury, learning difficulties, physical difficulties and mental health difficulties. Although a number of people received support from the service, only one person received personal care. CQC only inspects when people receive personal care. Due to the limited personal care support offered by the service we are unable to give a rating. There is currently insufficient information available for us to form a judgement.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found.

Some medicine administration processes needed to be strengthened, however, people received their medicines as prescribed and in their preferred manner.

People were cared for safely. Risk assessments were in place and reviewed regularly and as people’s needs changed. Staff understood safeguarding procedures.

Pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. There were enough staff to meet people’s care needs.

People’s care records contained clear information covering all aspects of their care and support needs. Staff had a good understanding of people’s wishes and individual preferences. People’s personal histories, preferences and dislikes and diversity needs such as cultural or religious needs were considered within the care plans. Staff received training to meet people’s needs.

People made decisions about their daily routines and these were respected by staff. People were supported to access health care services when needed. People received support from reliable, compassionate staff.

Staff enjoyed working at the service and there was good communication and team work. Staff were caring in their approach and people were treated with respect. Staff maintained people’s dignity and promoted their independence.

The registered manager was also the provider. They were involved in all aspects of the running of the service. Further work was required to ensure there was a robust and effective quality assurance and audit system in place.

The registered manager worked in an open and transparent way and was keen to develop and improve the service. People knew how to make a complaint if they were not satisfied with the service received.

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

At the last inspection of this service we were unable to give a rating (published 12 July 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Access 24 is a domiciliary care agency who are registered to offer support to older and younger adults with; dementia, brain injury, learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health. They provide personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone using Access 24 received personal care. At the time of inspection, the service had been supporting one person for less than six months. As a result, we have been unable to give the service a rating.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People medicines were not consistently signed for by staff. Audits completed did not identify this issue and there were no audits completed on care files, daily notes or daily tasks completed by staff.

The registered manager had not always followed safer recruitment processes by ensuring staff had the necessary checks before starting work.

The provider had safeguarding and whistleblowing systems and policies in place and staff had received training on safeguarding adults. Staff had a good understanding of abuse and the actions they should take if they had any concerns that people were at risk.

People told us they felt safe with staff, and that staff were good and knew what to do. Staff knew people and understood how they liked to receive their care and support. Care plans were individualised and outlined people’s preferences.

People told us they were fully involved in all aspects of their care planning and documentation. The potential risks to each person's health, safety, environment, mobility and welfare had been identified and people’s files contained detailed risk assessments

People and staff told us the registered manager was accessible to all, that if they needed the registered manager they always responded quickly.

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.

This service was registered with us on 21 November 2016 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration and when the service had begun to provide personal care to people.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.