Yorkshire Senior Care Limited

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. The service’s office is based in Wetherby and they provide support to people in the Wetherby and North Leeds area of Yorkshire. At the time of our inspection there were 57 people who used the service.

At the time of our inspection 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.

People's needs were safely met. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people's needs in a timely way. Staff had received training to provide them with the skills and knowledge they needed to provide people with safe care. Assessments were in place and appropriately acted upon to reduce and manage the risks to people's health and welfare.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and documented and changes were made to ensure risks were minimised. Environmental risks had been assessed and infection control was monitored.

Robust recruitment systems were in place and the provision of appropriate training, supervision and appraisal to all new staff. Staff understood the importance of protecting people from abuse and avoidable harm. They were aware of the actions they needed to take to report any concerns about people's safety or well-being.

People received support from a staff team that were caring, friendly, and responsive to people's changing needs. They were able to demonstrate that they understood what was required of them to provide each individual with the person centred support they needed to lead fulfilling lives as independently as possible.

People were treated with dignity and their right to make choices about how they preferred their care to be provided was respected. People's rights were protected. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's care and support took into account their individuality and was person centred. People received an initial assessment prior to taking up the service and their agreed care plans reflected needs centred around the person, including their preferences.

People were supported to eat a healthy diet and to have access to health services in the community to support their health and well-being. The staff followed the advice of healthcare professionals in meeting people's needs where appropriate.

Staff ensured people who required support to manage their medicines received them as prescribed. We have made a recommendation about the provider improving their records around people’s medicines and how they prefer to take them.

People benefitted from a service that was appropriately managed so that they received their care in a timely and reliable way. People knew how to raise concerns and complaints and the provider had appropriate policies and procedures in place to manage them appropriately. There were also systems in place to assess and monitor the on-going quality of the service. People's views about the quality of the service were sought and acted upon.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People's care plans contained a good level of information that ensured their needs were being met. We spoke with five people and/or their relatives who told us they were happy with the care and support they received. One person told us, 'I like them all they are all very nice. They look after me well.' Another person said, 'Its fine I can't fault them, the care I get is what I need.'

Medicines were prescribed and given to people appropriately. People we spoke with said they received their medication on time and when they needed it. Appropriate arrangements were in place in relation to management of medicines. The provider had clear guidance that outlined how medicines should be obtained and protocols that staff must follow. Staff we spoke with said they had received medication training.

We found people were supported by sufficient numbers of qualified, skilled and experienced staff which met people's needs. People we spoke with told us there were enough staff and they always turned up on time.

There were quality monitoring programmes in place, which included people giving feedback about their care and support. This provided a good overview of the quality of the service's provided.

We looked at three sets of care records and saw care was delivered based on identified needs. We were told the same care giver provided care which ensured continuity of care. We were also told care givers were introduced to people prior to them being provided with care. The care records we looked at contained a picture of the care givers along with information about their qualifications. This helped people to get to know the person who had provided them with their care.

We saw systems were in place to regularly monitor the quality of the service.

You can see our judgements on the front page of this report.