Archived: Palm Home Care Ltd

We spoke with three people who used the service. They told us that their care was "good", "It's all going very well" and "They go out of their way to help". We looked at three care plans. They contained clear information about people's individual needs. Information was up to date. Risk assessments were in place in respect of the care to be delivered. People who used the service told us that they had recently been visited by staff to undertake reviews of their care. Records confirmed this.

Staff had completed mandatory training which included training in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults, health and safety and infection control. The provider had booked staff on to practical manual handling training and medications training with external training providers. New staff had received induction training.

The provider had effective quality assurance processes. Regular spot checks had taken place on the quality of care delivered in people's homes. Where a member of staff had raised an issue about a risk of unsafe care this had been responded to promptly and effectively.

People told us that they were involved in planning their care. They said their personal preferences in care delivery were respected. One person said, "I am listened to!" People said that care staff were respectful and took steps to preserve their privacy and dignity, such as knocking before coming into a room. People told us that they felt safe and comfortable with care workers.

However, we found that the some care plans did not contain full assessments of the care required. The action which was needed to meet needs was not always clearly recorded. For example, two care plans contained several sets of instructions for staff and it was not clear which version was the most up to date.

We found that some staff had not completed mandatory training and that the lack of practical training in some areas, such as moving and handling and safe administration of medicines was a concern for some staff.

The agency conducted user surveys and records showed they responded when issues were raised. However, "spot check" visits to monitor the quality of care delivered in people's homes had not been undertaken at the time of our inspection.