Promedica24 (Lancashire) Limited

Promedica24 (Lancashire) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes by means of live-in carers. This means the care workers live with the person for a set period of time. The service provides support to older people and those living with dementia or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 152 people using the service.

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

The service ensured people received safe care and support, and people were protected from harm. Safeguarding referrals were made where required and there were robust recruitment checks in place to ensure people were protected from risk. People felt they were safe and were supported by staff who they described as “Caring,” “Respectful” and, “Competent.”

Risks to people and the home environment were assessed in detail and where required, risks regarding people’s individual health needs were monitored closely. The registered manager and staff understood the importance of infection prevention and control which was embedded in the service.

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.

People received their medicines as prescribed, and staff supported people with their medicines safely. Records relating to medicines management were completed in full and robust checks were in place to ensure medicines were managed effectively. The registered manager understood the importance of a lessons learned process when things went wrong, and we saw evidence of the service improving in response to accidents and incidents.

The registered manager had instilled a positive and open culture, where staff and people felt engaged in the running of the service. Staff felt valued and listened to and people’s feedback was sought regularly so they could make suggestions on improvements to the service they received. People praised the staff approach and the responsiveness and openness of the management team, which was described as “Transparent” and, “Organised.”

The registered manager was committed to continuous learning and development. There were detailed plans in place to improve people’s experience of the service and the quality of care being delivered. We saw evidence of effective partnership working to ensure people’s changing care needs were met.

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 22 February 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Promedica24 (Lancashire) Limited is a live-in care service. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. It provides support to people with a variety of needs, including people with a physical disability, sensory impairment, younger adults, older people and people living with dementia. Care workers are recruited by the provider in Poland to support people in the UK. Each care worker supports a person for a period of between six and twelve weeks in their home. Staff then have a break of between one and three months, when a different member of staff provides support. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to 16 people.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager at the service who had been registered with the Commission since January 2017. 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.

This was our first inspection of this service. During the inspection we found that the provider was meeting all regulations.

The people we spoke with told us staff provided them with 24 hour care and were available to support them when needed.

People told us they felt safe when staff supported them. Staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard adults at risk and told us they would report any abusive practice to their personal care manager.

Records showed that staff had been recruited safely and staff told us they had received an effective induction. Staff received regular supervision and their practice was observed to ensure they were providing safe care. Staff told us they felt well supported by their personal care manager and the registered manager.

We found evidence of safe medicines processes and practices. However, additional information relating to dosage instructions needed to be included on people’s medicines administration records (MARs). We were assured that this would be addressed. Staff had completed medicines management training and their competence to administer medicines safely was assessed regularly. People told us they received their medicines when they should.

People were supported with their nutrition, hydration and healthcare needs. Staff sought medical attention and referred people to community healthcare professionals when appropriate. Community health and social care professionals gave us positive feedback about the service.

People were happy with the care and support they received from the service. They told us their care needs were discussed with them and they were involved in decisions about their care.

People liked the staff who supported them and told us they were caring. They told us staff respected their right to privacy and dignity when providing care and encouraged them to be independent. We found evidence that people’s confidential information was protected.

We found that people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff understood the main principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They sought people’s consent before providing support and supported people to make everyday decisions about their care. Where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care, their relatives had been consulted.

People told us they knew who to contact if they had any concerns or if they wanted to make a complaint. We found evidence that the complaints received had been investigated and responded to appropriately.

People were asked to give feedback about the service they received during regular reviews and in satisfaction surveys. We reviewed the results of recent surveys and found that people had reported a high level of satisfaction with the support they received.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with how the service was being managed. They found the staff and registered manager approachable and helpful.

We saw evidence that regular audits were completed and found that these checks were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of care and safety were maintained.