Archived: Shalom Health Recruitment Ltd

Updated 7 July 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the

overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under The Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 6 June 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection we looked at previous inspection records and intelligence we had received about the service and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

On the day of the inspection we visited the office location and spoke with the registered manager and the care coordinator, both of whom owned the company and provided direct care to people. We spoke with a staff member and one relative of a person who was currently using the service. We also spoke with three relatives of people who no longer used the service but had used the service since the last inspection. At the time of the inspection there was only one person using the service, so we reviewed information about the care they received. We also reviewed three staff recruitment and support files, training records and quality assurance information.

Updated 7 July 2017

We carried out a previous comprehensive inspection on 17 March 2016 at found five breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated activities) Regulations 2014. These breaches were in relation to safe care, complaints, governance, staffing, employment and recruitment processes, following this inspection the service was placed into special measures.

We carried out a further inspection of this service on the 9 November 2016 and found that the provider still required improvement in some areas and were still in breaches of some of the legal requirements. After the inspection the provider told us what action they would take. We undertook a further inspection on the 6 June 2017 and found that the provider had made improvements and the legal requirements were now being met.

Shalom Health Recruitment Ltd provides a domiciliary care service and is registered to deliver personal care and treatment of disease, disorder or injury to people in their own homes. On the day of our inspection, there was one person using the service who was being supported with palliative care by four members of staff. We were able to speak with relatives whose loved ones had used the service over the last year. They were able to comment specifically on the care provided to people at the end of life in their own homes.

At the last inspection we found that improvements needed to be made around the recording of risks and how to mitigate them to ensure people received safe care. We found that care plans were not sufficiently detailed or personalised to provide an accurate description of the person’s lifestyle, and support needs. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made to these areas.

A registered manager was in place. 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.

There were sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely and who had the skills and knowledge to support people in the way they preferred. Staff had developed good relationships with people who used the service and understood the need to obtain consent when providing support.

Staff knew how to minimise risks and provide people with safe care and there were procedures and processes which guided staff on how to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included checks on the environment and risk assessments which identified how risks to people were minimised.

People's relatives told us they were aware of how to make a complaint and that the registered manager listened to them and was interested in their views.

Systems were in place for people to be supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible. Policies supported this practice.

The person that was being supported at the time of the inspection did not require help to meet their nutritional needs, however systems were in place to support people to eat at a time and in a way that they choose.

A quality assurance system was in place and as a result the service continued to develop and improve. We recommended that the registered manager reviews the resources available on the skills for care website, to support them to develop their understanding of quality assurance. We also recommended that the registered manager looks at ways they can access shared learning opportunities and develop their knowledge around best practice.