Archived: Homecare4u Bristol

' Care and welfare of people who use services.

' Management of medicines.

' Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.

We made compliance actions and told the provider that improvements were required.

We visited Homecare4u Bristol again on 25 October 2013 with the intention of checking on the action that had been taken in relation to these standards. However, we saw that their office was not occupied. The condition of the premises was such that it was not a suitable and safe environment for people to use.

As a result, the focus of our visit changed and we sought assurance from the provider that the people who used the service were receiving the visits that they needed. We found that the service was no longer being provided from the location and other arrangements were being made. A different office was being used which was away from the Homecare4u Bristol location.

The provider had applied to amend their registration by changing their location in Bristol. This application was being processed although it had not been approved at the time of our visit on 25 October 2013. We are considering the arrangements that have been made by the provider in relation to a change of offices. This may result in us taking action that has not been reported on as part of this inspection.

We found that people's care records did not always provide good information about their needs and the support that had been agreed. There were also shortcomings in relation to medication, which meant that there was a risk that people would not receive the correct level of support.

People who used the service were mostly positive about how staff carried out their work, although there were exceptions. Overall, we found that the arrangements being made for the recruitment and induction of care workers had improved since our last inspection.

People's views were being obtained and some action was being taken to audit aspects of the service. However these were not effective enough in ensuring that good standards were being maintained.

We checked the procedures that were in place for recruiting staff and for supporting new staff in their roles. This involved a visit to the Homecare4u Bristol office, where we looked at records and spoke to a number of staff, including four carers.

Overall, we found there were shortcomings in the arrangements being made for the recruitment and deployment of new staff. This meant that the people who used the service were at risk because care was being provided by staff who were not well supported and prepared for the work they carried out.