The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Abacus Care (Greenwich)

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

1 Chestnut Close, Shardeloes Road, London, SE14 6PS (020) 3601 2712

Provided and run by:
SMOBS UK Ltd

All Inspections

6 May 2015

During a routine inspection

Abacus Care (Greenwich) provides personal care and support to one person. This person funds their own care. In addition, Abacus Care (Greenwich) provides a domestic service to people in South East London.

We undertook an announced inspection of this service on 6 May 2015. At our previous inspection on 28 November 2013 the service was meeting the regulations inspected.

The service had a registered manager as required. 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.

A personalised service was provided tailored to the person receiving care. The person was involved in all decisions about their care. They worked with the registered manager to develop a support plan which identified what support they required from staff. We saw that care and support was provided in line with the support plan and the person’s wishes. Staff supported the person with their medicines and meal preparations as required.

The person was kept safe. The registered manager had identified any risks to the person’s safety and plans were in place to reduce the risk of harm to the person. Staff informed the manager if they had any concerns about the person’s health so they could receive additional healthcare assistance when required.

Staff respected the person’s privacy and confidentiality.

There were sufficient staff to meet the person’s needs. There had been no missed appointments and staff had the knowledge and skills to provide the person with the support they required. Staff were supported by their manager, and were able to access them for additional advice when needed.

The registered manager undertook checks to ensure a quality service was provided, and any areas requiring improvement were identified and acted upon.

28 November 2013

During a routine inspection

Assessments were undertaken to identify what support people required. Support plans were developed based on the information identified through the assessment process and from speaking with people who used the service and their relatives about their preferences and their likes and dislikes. The support plans we saw contained detailed information on how a person was to be supported and cared for.

There were sufficient staff to provide a service to people who required support with their personal care seven days a week. We saw that staff attended appointments at the times and frequency outlined in the person's support plan.

Staff reported they were well supported and we saw that staff had regular contact with the manager of the service. There was a programme of training in place to ensure staff had the knowledge and skills required to support people who used the service.

People who used the service, their relatives and staff had opportunities to feedback about the service provided, and there was a formal complaints process in place. The manager undertook regular unannounced 'spot checks' to review the quality of the service provided.

29 January 2013

During a routine inspection

A relative we spoke with told us, "I'm really pleased with the care and support they provide. I have no problems at all. I would thoroughly recommend them to others."

People who use the service understood the care and treatment choices available to them. People took part in an initial assessment meeting before joining the service, to discuss the services available and the best ways to support them. This information was documented in their plans of care.

There were comprehensive care planning arrangements in place in the service, which included up to date care plans and risk assessments, and the involvement of people and their representatives in their plans of care.

The provider had arrangements in place to protect people from abuse. Staff had up to date training in safeguarding people from abuse, and a safeguarding policy was in place which highlighted staff responsibilities to protect people from harm.

Suitable recruitment checks were completed to ensure people were cared for and supported by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.