GPS Care Services

Updated 5 August 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 5 July 2022 and ended on 11 July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is

information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the nominated individual, registered manager and two care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and what actions they had taken in relation to feedback.

Updated 5 August 2022

About the service

GPS Care Services is a domiciliary care agency which means staff go into people's own homes to provide care and support. 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. At the time of the inspection there were two people using the service.

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

People were happy with the care and support they received. Since the last inspection the provider had made significant improvements to the running of the service, to ensure people’s care was consistently safe. Background checks were completed to ensure only suitable persons were employed to provide care. Health and safety risks were considered and managed to ensure people’s safety and autonomy was maintained. Medicines were managed in a safe way, with minor improvements needed to the management of topical creams. People consistently told us staff were kind and they received support from the same core group of staff, which promoted good continuity of care.

The provider had made positive changes to their systems of governance since our last visit, but improvements were ongoing. Audit systems remained absent in some key areas of care delivery. We saw no evidence this had impacted on people’s care. People benefitted from a management team who were involved in the delivery of people’s care and were ‘hands on’ when it came to responding to people’s feedback. Record keeping systems had improved, these were now accurate and clear. Records of care reviews however, lacked detail and did not provide a clear audit trail of decisions made about a person’s care.

People were supported by staff who were competent and skilled. Care plans were person-centred and people were fully involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff asked people for their consent before providing them with any care. People who used the service 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.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 23 March 2022). At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations 9, 12, 18 and 19. The provider remained in breach of regulation 17.

This service has been in Special Measures since 22 March 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.