Archived: Premiere Care UK

The service is owned and managed by Shantelle Morris, who is the director of the service. As Shantelle Morris is registered with the CQC as the provider, there is no requirement for a separate registered manager for this location.

The service first registered with the CQC on 24 November 2017. This inspection on 6 November 2018 was the first inspection for the service.

One person and relatives we spoke with were positive about the care provided and said they were satisfied with how the service operated. One person we spoke with told us they felt safe in the presence of care workers. This was also confirmed by relatives we spoke with who told us that they were confident people were safe. Feedback indicated that care workers were competent and professional. They told us that people had been treated with respect and dignity by their care workers. There was a safeguarding adults' policy and care workers said they would report concerns immediately to the director.

Individual risk assessments were completed for people which included an environment and health risk assessment. These included information about potential hazards and instructions for care workers. We however noted that one person was at risk of falls and there was a lack of information for staff on how to mitigate this risk. We discussed this with management and they advised they would review their risk assessments and ensure they included the appropriate information.

We looked at the recruitment records to check whether necessary recruitment checks had been carried out. We found some background checks for safer recruitment including, enhanced criminal record checks had been undertaken and proof of their identity and right to work in the United Kingdom had also been obtained. We however found that one care worker did not have evidence of an enhanced criminal record check and the majority of references obtained for care workers were not professional references. We discussed these shortfalls with the director and following the inspection she took appropriate action to improve this.

The director confirmed that the service did not currently prompt or administer medicines to people at the time of the inspection. As a result of this we did not look at how the service managed medicines as part of this inspection.

One person and relatives we spoke with told us their care workers were punctual and raised no concerns in respect of care worker’s timekeeping. They also told us they received care from the same care worker on a regular basis.

The service had a training programme to ensure care workers were competent and able to care effectively for people. They had the necessary support and supervision from the director. Teamwork and communication within the service was good.

Feedback from people indicated that positive and close relationships had developed between people using the service and their care worker. Care workers were aware of the importance of treating people with respect and dignity.

Care plans provided information about people’s life history and medical background. People's support plan outlined the support people needed with various aspects of their daily life and included detail about people’s care preferences, daily routine likes and dislikes and people that were important to them.

Care workers had received training in the Mental Capacity Assessment (MCA). Care workers we spoke with were aware of the importance of ensuring people were able to make their own decisions as much as possible. Care plans included information about people's communication needs.

A complaints procedure was in place. One person and relatives spoke positively about the service and told us they thought it was well managed and raised no concerns.

The director explained that the service aimed to put the needs of people and their families at the “heart of everything” they do. The core focus of the service is “inspiring companionship whilst providing the highest quality of care”.

There was a management structure in place with a team of care workers and the director. All staff spoke positively about the management and culture of the service and told us the director was approachable if they needed to raise any concerns.

One person and relatives expressed confidence in the management of the service. The director explained that some audits had been carried out but she was still in the process of implementing these. We did not see documented evidence of comprehensive completed audits including audits of care plans, risk assessments, accidents, complaints and punctuality. The director informed us that the service had only started getting more work recently and they were in the process of preparing a comprehensive audit checklist.

During the inspection, the director explained to us that they would make improvements to aspects of the service identified. However, we needed to be sure that these processes had been implemented consistently over a significant period of time and therefore we have rated the service as "Requires Improvement".