Archived: Focus on Care

Focus on Care is a care at home service providing personal and nursing care to 48 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they received safe care and treatment. Staff undertook risk assessments for people they supported and identified risks were managed well. Care staff understood the importance of safeguarding people they supported, and they knew how to report accidents and incidents.

Staff had completed training in the safe administration of medicines. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and protocols were in place to support self-administration of medicines.

People told us staff visited as planned and they were punctual. The manager had processes for monitoring visits and were planning to roll out new visit monitoring technology to enable the provider to monitor whether staff visited as planned.

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.

Staff liaised with health care professionals and supported people to attend appointments. People were supported to make healthy choices in relation to life style. People told us staff helped them to prepare meals and collect their groceries.

Staff received training which enabled them to provide safe and effective care. The manager observed staff in practice every three months. Staff received regular supervision from their line manager and told us they felt supported.

People and their relatives understood how to make a complaint. People told us they felt listened to. There had not been any complaints since the last inspection.

There was information available throughout people’s support plans which enabled staff to provide person-centred care. People and their representatives had been involved in the care planning process.

The manager maintained clear records of quality assurance and good governance. People and their relatives provided consistent positive feedback about the management team.

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 14 September 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

The agency was last inspected on 22 August 2013 and at that time did not provide personal care support to anybody living in their own home.

The agency office is situated in St Mary’s hospital Warrington and is part of the St George

Healthcare Group. St Mary’s hospital provides specialist services for people with acquired brain injury and autistic spectrum conditions in a low to medium secure or locked environment.

Focus on Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the agency was providing support for 34 people living in the community. The Care Quality Commission has inspected this service in relation to those people who have been assessed as needing personal care.

The agency had a Registered Manager. 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 risk of abuse was minimised because there were clear policies and procedures in place to provide staff with information on how to protect people in the event of an allegation or suspicion of abuse.

Staff had receive training to support them with the safe administration of medicines to people they supported.

Suitable recruitment processes and checks were in place to minimise the risk of unsuitable people being employed to work with vulnerable people.

Staff received induction and regular training updates to equip them with the knowledge to fulfil their role.

People were supported by an enthusiastic caring staff team.

Staff had good relationships with people who used the service and we were told staff were caring and attentive to their needs.

The staff took account of people’s wishes, likes and dislikes when providing support.

People were provided with information regarding the agency’s complaints procedure and they told us they knew how and to whom they could complain.

There was strong leadership at the agency were staff told us they felt supported and enabled to do their job and develop.