We carried out a review of the data available to us about Retain Healthcare Limited - Salisbury on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Retain Healthcare Limited - Salisbury, you can give feedback on this service.
Retain Healthcare Limited - Salisbury is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe receiving care from staff. The provider had taken action to keep people safe and manage the risks they faced.
Following the last inspection, the provider had introduced a new system for recording incidents. This had resulted in improved management oversight of incidents and ensured action was taken to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again.
Staff had a good understanding of the support people needed. Staff supported people to do as much for themselves as possible and maintain their independence. People’s needs were set out in clear care plans, which had been reviewed regularly.
People were supported to take medicines safely and staff sought advice from health and social care services when necessary.
The provider had made changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and there were good infection prevention and control measures in place. People told us staff always wore the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) when providing care for them.
Staff received regular training and support. People and visiting professionals felt staff had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People were supported to access the health services they needed.
People’s rights to make their own decisions were respected and people were in control of their support.
People said staff were caring and provided support in ways that maintained their privacy and dignity.
People had been supported to develop clear care plans, which set out how their individual needs should be met. The plans were specific to people and contained detailed information for staff. People knew how to make a complaint and were confident any issues they raised would be responded to.
The provider had established good systems to monitor the quality of service provided and make improvements where needed. The registered manager worked with people, staff and other professionals to ensure people achieved good outcomes.
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 6 June 2019 and this is the first comprehensive inspection. A focused inspection was carried out on 10 November 2021, but did not provide an overall rating for the service.
Why we inspected
This inspection was planned to provide an overall rating for the service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Retain Healthcare Limited – Salisbury is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living with a range of health conditions in their own homes or flats. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 21 people.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Medicines management needed some improvements as we observed some specific instructions on people’s records had not been followed. The provider told us they would review systems to check for timely administration of medicines. Medicines audits had not been carried out in a timely way so concerns identified could be resolved effectively. Staff had been trained to administer medicines and had their competence checked by senior staff.
Incident forms were completed when needed but we were not always able to see what action had been taken as a response. There was no management review recorded to demonstrate incidents had been investigated and actions identified to prevent a reoccurrence. We have made a recommendation about managing incidents.
Risks to people’s safety had been identified and assessed. Staff had guidance in place to follow to keep people safe and they were updated as needed. The service supported people to return to their homes from hospital and often this was with very short notice. Staff tried to make sure core risk management plans were in place from the start of a care package. Further risk management plans were written and added as the care package progressed.
People and relatives told us they felt the service was safe and they had staff who were reliable and professional. Staff enjoyed their work and felt they worked for a caring organisation. Staff wellbeing was important to the provider and they had various systems in place to reward staff for their hard work.
Staffing numbers were kept under constant review. The provider had faced challenges recruiting staff and were always willing to try different ways of attracting new applicants. Some packages of care had to be handed back to the local authority but this was carried out in a timely and safe way. Staff had been recruited safely and given an induction which included training on safeguarding.
Staff had access to personal protective equipment and had been trained on how to use it safely. Training also included an update on infection prevention and control good practice and how to work safely during COVID-19. Staff tested for COVID-19 following the latest government guidance.
The provider had staff who were COVID-19 champions, making sure they kept up to date with changing guidance.
People, relatives and staff told us the service was well managed. We were told the management were approachable and would deal with any concern. Quality monitoring systems were in place which included audits of care records and spot checks on staff working in people’s homes.
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 CQC on 6 June 2019. Because this is a focused inspection and the service has not been previously rated under this provider, we were not able to produce an overall rating for the service as we have not inspected all of the key questions. Under the previous provider the service was rated good, published on 6 December 2018.
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to how the service managed risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. During our inspection an incident occurred relating to one person’s safety. This was being investigated by the local authority safeguarding team so we did not review the individual concern. We will liaise with the local authority regarding the concerns raised.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.