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Archived: Serenity - Birmingham

Unit 1B-1C, Holt Court South, Jennens Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B7 4EJ (0121) 698 2118

Provided and run by:
Serenity Homecare Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile
Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

20 August 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

At this inspection we visited to follow up action taken by the provider since our inspection in March 2013. We also checked that appropriate arrangements were in place to safeguard people from abuse. We found improvements had been made to the service.

We spoke to five people or their relatives out of 15 people receiving a service from Serenity-Birmingham. They all told us they received a good service. Amongst their comments were: "I cannot fault them" and "It is an excellent service." People told us care staff visited at the time that they were supposed to and stayed for the right length of time. Records we looked at confirmed this and staff told us that appropriate arrangements had been made so they could get to visits on time. There were enough staff to provide appropriate care for people.

People told us that care staff knew about their health conditions and knew how to support them. They told us that staff were caring and would contact health professionals for them if their health was failing. Care records showed that appropriate plans were in place for care staff to provide good personal care and to respond in emergencies. Care staff at the time of this inspection were receiving training in 'end of life' or dementia care where this was appropriate to meet the needs of people. They told us that received support in the form of regular meetings with managers.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

17 May 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We inspected Serenity Homecare Limited in March 2013 and found that they were failing to assess and monitor the quality of the service and this put people at risk of harm. On 5 April 2013 we issued a warning notice to Serenity Homecare Limited requiring them to make improvements by 30 April 2013. We undertook this follow-up inspection on 17 May 2013 to review any improvements. On this occasion we did not speak with any people who use the service, however a further inspection visit is planned to look at other areas of non compliance with regulation.

Serenity Homecare Limited operated a service across both Birmingham and Leicester. There had been no new people receiving a service since our last visit. We reviewed the care records for four people receiving either home care services in Leicester or Birmingham. We checked the systems in place to monitor: people's satisfaction with the service provided the training of and the competence of staff and the service's response to complaints. Overall, we found that better systems and processes were in place. The provider was monitoring the care provided and had ensured that views from the people who were receiving the service were being listened and responded to.

20 March 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

Prior to our visit to the service we received information of concern. During this inspection we spoke with eight out of the nine people that were receiving a service from Serenity- Birmingham or, their relatives. We spoke with three staff, the manager and the provider of the service as well as the informant.

People's views of the service varied. Some people were happy with the service supplied and received a good support. Other people told us they had problems receiving the service as commissioned and agreed when they first received the service. Some people told us that they continued to have this difficulty. People named individual staff members that they thought were very knowledgeable and kind; and also named other staff that they had concerns about.

The provider did not have an effective complaints management process in place to ensure that concerns or complaints received were investigated and responded to appropriately.

The service's records showed that people did not always receive services at the times that had been agreed and there were poor systems in place for monitoring that people had a visit and a visit at the time agreed. Arrangements were not always made to cover visits when the service was unable to provide the care at the time agreed and this put people at risk of harm. Staff did not always have the care plan to refer to when providing care and this meant that people with significant health concerns could receive inconsistent care and support.