Archived: Pearl Home Care Ltd

Pearl Home Care Ltd is a care at home service which provides personal care and support to older adults. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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:

People told us they felt safe, all people spoke highly of the staff. One person said, “They [staff] are excellent, I can’t recommend them enough, brilliant service.” Staff understood safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs and staff confirmed this. Accidents and incidents were monitored. Risks to people were identified and assessments were in place for staff to follow, ensuring people’s needs were met. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Medication systems were in place to ensure safe administration of medicines. There was a recruitment process, which was improved further following our inspection to evidence it was a robust process.

We have made a recommendation to ensure the recruitment evidence is readily accessible to evidence robust checks are completed.

Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about people needs. Staff had received effective training to ensure their knowledge was up to date. Staff were supervised and supported. People were supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests

There was an effective quality monitoring system in place. People who used the service and their relatives felt listened to and said any issues or concerns were appropriately dealt with and resolved. People’s views were obtained to drive improvements. Feedback we received from staff was extremely positive about the leadership and support received for them to be able to fulfil their roles and responsibilities.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update:

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 October 2018) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

Follow Up:

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

Pearl Home Care Limited is registered to provide personal care to people. This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

At the time of our inspection the agency supported two people with personal care and employed two care staff. The service is located in Barnsley in South Yorkshire.

This was the first inspection to Pearl Home Care Limited since they had registered with us in September 2017.

The service had a registered manager who was also the provider of the service. 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 provider's staff recruitment systems did not always reduce the risk of unsuitable staff being employed. We did not always see evidence that staff completed an induction, completed training or had their background suitably checked prior to employment.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to complete all planned care calls at the times people expected and for the length of time needed. People told us they felt safe with the staff that supported them and knew they could contact the agency when needed.

People received their medicines as prescribed and staff had completed training to enable them to manage medicines safely and in accordance with best practice.

People had care plans which were personalised, and informed staff how people wanted their care and support to be provided. Care plans were sufficiently detailed and updated when required. Risks associated with people's care were assessed in individualised risk management plans for staff to follow to minimise known risks.

Staff were aware of risks associated with people's care and knew the signs to look for of potential abuse. Staff had a good understanding of the needs and preferences of the people and where appropriate supported them with meals and drinks to maintain hydration and health.

People felt staff had the knowledge and skills needed to meet their needs and spoke positively of the support they received. People, and where appropriate relatives, were involved in developing and reviewing planned care so that they continued to be satisfied with the service they received.

People's privacy and dignity was respected and their independence promoted. The registered manager had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff sought people's consent before care was provided.

The registered manager was aware of their legal responsibilities and provided effective leadership and support to staff. Quality assurance systems were used to monitor and assess the quality of the service to drive continuous improvement.