24hr Swift Care Services

24hr Swift Care Services is a domiciliary care provider registered to provide personal care to people living in the community. It specialises in providing palliative and end of life care to people with a life limiting illness. 11 people were receiving personal care at the time of our inspection.

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

There was a lack of effective quality assurance systems and processes in place to enable the registered manager to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. The registered manager had not consistently followed safe recruitment procedures; they had not ensured that all necessary recruitment checks had been completed as part of the staff selection process.

Not all staff had received mandatory training from the provider. Where staff had received training relevant to their role in previous employment their knowledge and competency was not checked. We have made a recommendation about staff training.

The process in place to ensure staff who administered medicines had sufficient knowledge and understanding required strengthening. Medicines procedures were not followed to ensure the application of people’s creams was recorded. We have made a recommendation about medicines management.

Pre assessments were completed with people but records did not fully reflect people's cultural or religious needs or any protected characteristics. We have made a recommendation about pre assessments.

End of life care plans were not in place for all people. We made a recommendation about end of life care.

Risk assessments addressed people’s individual risks but did not consider the risks posed by the environment to people and staff. The registered manager had not followed their complaints policy and complaints had not been recorded. People and their relatives knew how to complain and felt confident any concerns would be addressed to their satisfaction.

People were supported by staff that knew how to recognise abuse and report concerns. Staff had a good knowledge of infection control and had access to gloves and aprons.

People were supported to eat and drink enough and to access healthcare as needed. 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.

People received support from a small and consistent team of care staff who knew them well and their care was personalised. People and staff had developed caring relationships. People’s privacy and dignity was respected, and their independence promoted.

People’s feedback on their care was sought and they told us they would recommend the service. Staff felt valued by the registered manager. Staff regularly worked with the registered manager and felt supported in their role.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 4 July 2018, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to Regulation 17 (Good Governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and Regulation 19 of the HSCA 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Fit and proper persons employed.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.