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  • Homecare service

Archived: Phemacare LTD

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

5 Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 3BE (0121) 454 7139

Provided and run by:
Phemacare Ltd

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

25 May 2016

During a routine inspection

The Inspection took place on 25 May 2016 and was announced. We told the provider that we were going to visit 48 hours before our inspection. This was because the service provided domiciliary care and we wanted to ensure that staff would be available to talk with us about the service. At our last inspection of this service on 14 September 2014 we found that they were meeting all the regulations that we assessed.

Phemcare Limited is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support and personal care to 50 people.

The registered manager had recently left the service a new manager had been appointed but was not yet registered with us. 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.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service. These needed to be more robust to ensure that records relating to people’s care were well maintained.

People and their relatives told us that they felt safe with their staff. Staff were trained in safeguarding adults and understood how to protect people from abuse.

People were supported by staff that were kind, caring and respectful and knew them well.

People had been involved in the planning of their care and received care and support in line with their plan of care.

Risks to people were minimised because there were arrangements in place to manage identified risks with people’s care. Checks were carried out prior to staff starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. People had their medicines when they needed them.

Staff were aware of how to support people’s rights and seek their consent before providing care and ensured people were supported to make day to day choices.

People were cared for by staff who were trained and supported so that they could carry out their role effectively.

10 September 2014

During a routine inspection

This inspection was completed by one inspector. On the day of our inspection we found 27 people used the service. We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives on the telephone following the inspection. We spoke with the provider, the service manager and four care staff. Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what people told us, the records we looked at and what staff told us. We used the evidence we collected during our inspection to answer five questions. If you wish to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People told us they felt safe. One person told us, "I feel completely safe." Safeguarding procedures were in place and staff understood their role in safeguarding the people they supported. Staff were aware of the provider's whistleblowing policy.

The provider and staff sought people's consent and agreement to their care. This ensured that people's rights were protected.

Staff knew about risk management plans and we saw that they supported people in line with those plans. This meant people were cared for in a way that protected them from harm.

The provider worked well with health care providers to ensure people's health needs were met and they were protected against harm.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and trained staff to meet people's needs safely.

Systems were in place to make sure the provider and staff learned from events such as accidents and incidents, complaints and checks made on the service. This reduced the risk to people.

Is the service effective?

People told us their care needs were assessed with them. We saw evidence that people were involved in their care planning and reviews. We saw care plans were regularly updated. One person told us, "They have helped me so much, I now only need one call a day because they have supported me to regain my independence."

Where people had complex needs that required the input of specialist health care services, assessments had been made by the appropriate professionals. Their recommendations were carried out by staff. This meant the provider worked well with other services to ensure people's health care needs were met.

Staff were appropriately trained to ensure they effectively met people's needs.

Is the service caring?

People told us they were supported by kind and caring staff. One person told us, "The staff are kind, caring, polite and helpful."

People's preferences, interests and diverse needs had been recorded and care and support was provided in accordance with people's wishes.

Is the service responsive?

People were asked their views about the service and the provider acted on comments that people made. One person told us, "I had a small concern and they dealt with it immediately."

Where care staff had noticed people's changing needs, their care plans were updated to reflect this. We found staff discussed people's care needs with them on a regular basis.

Is the service well led?

The provider had risk management systems in place. We found the provider checked that risks were managed effectively. We found the provider used the information they gathered from their checks to develop a service improvement plan.

The provider sought the views of people who used the service and staff. Records seen by us indicated that people were asked about all aspects of the service and their views were acted on.

The provider ensured that sufficient numbers of staff were available at all times to meet people's needs.

Staff told us they were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Staff told us they felt supported by their manager.

1 November 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service, three relatives, five members of staff and the provider.

Most people told us that they were happy with the service. They told us that the care staff treated them with respect and dignity.

We were told that the care staff took their time and did not rush people. One person who used the service told us, 'I have the same two carers and they are really brilliant. They really understand my needs and treat me very well'.

Systems were in place to protect vulnerable people. Staff had been trained in how to recognise adult abuse. Staff we spoke with understood what abuse was and knew about their responsibility to report concerns.

Recruitment procedures ensured that only staff who were suitable to work with vulnerable people were employed.

Some systems were in place to capture the views of the people who used the agency and to monitor the quality of the service.

6 March 2013

During a routine inspection

When we inspected the agency was not providing a service to any people but told us that they were actively looking to do so. Therefore, we could not seek the views of people or find out how the service would be delivered to people.

We met with the provider and the business manager and looked at records and systems.

We looked at the records and systems that the provider had in place and we spoke with the provider about the aims of the service and the principles of providing good care.

We saw that robust recruitment procedures were in place which would ensure that only staff that were suitable would be employed.

We saw safeguarding procedures were in place which promoted the principles of ensuring people would be protected from the risks of abuse.

We saw that the provider had systems in place to monitor the service.