We carried out a review of the data available to us about Abacus Care Solutions LTD on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Abacus Care Solutions LTD, you can give feedback on this service.
Abacus Care Solutions Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. At the time of this inspection 85 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives told us they were very happy with the support they received from Abacus Care Solutions Ltd. People told us they were kept informed of any changes and felt involved in their care. Staff knew people well and understood how they preferred their care and support to be delivered.
People had risk assessments completed for them. These were then used to develop person centred care plans which guided staff on how to care for people safely. Care plans were updated to ensure people received effective care and support. Staff received the training they needed to support people safely and liaised with health and social care professionals if they needed further guidance.
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People felt safe with staff, who had the appropriate training and skills to provide care safely and effectively.
Safe recruitment practices were followed, and appropriate checks completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. There was an ongoing process of staff recruitment to ensure people were supported safely and effectively. Staff received an appropriate induction and were well supported through a programme of regular supervision and training.
Medicines were managed and administered safely. People were supported to take their medicines safely by staff who had received training to administer medicines.
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.
The service involved people and where appropriate, their families, with their day to day care and support needs. Relatives and people felt listened to, and were consulted about how they preferred to receive their care and support.
People felt the service was well led, friendly, and professional. Staff felt well supported in their roles and appreciated the friendly and supportive approach taken by the management team.
Health and social care professionals and relatives spoke positively of the management and staff team.
There was a range of quality assurance measures and checks in operation. These included the provider issuing a questionnaire to obtain feedback from people and relatives.
There were audits of various aspects of the service, any shortfalls found were addressed which helped ensure people were safe. Audits helped identify any areas for improvement, this learning was shared with staff and ensured a process of continual improvement was followed.
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 17 July 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has remained at good based on the findings of this inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This was the first inspection of this service we have carried out.
As required under the conditions of its registration, the service had a registered manager, who was also one of the directors of the company. 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.
The registered manager had systems in place to help protect people against abuse and avoidable harm. Risks were identified and managed so that people were protected from harm. These included infection prevention and control procedures.
Medicines were managed and administered safely.
There were systems in place for responding to emergencies, including an out-of-hours on call service.
Staff were recruited safely, following checks to validate staff were of good character and suitable for their role. There were sufficient appropriately trained and skilled staff to provide people’s care.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People’s physical, mental health and social needs were assessed with up to date care plans in place. The service worked with other organisations when appropriate, to ensure people received the care they needed.
People were supported with meal provision, where this formed part of their care package.
Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and promoted their independence. People spoke highly of their care workers, who they felt understood them well and attended to how they liked things to be done.
Complaints were investigated promptly and outcomes recorded.
The culture of the service was open, transparent and person centred. There was a willingness to investigate learn if things went wrong, and to bring about any improvements necessary.
Staff meetings were held regularly, and staff were also supported through supervision.
Governance systems were in place to ensure the service remained safe, effective, caring and responsive to people’s needs.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.