Archived: East Office

Updated 7 September 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 was planned to check 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.

The inspection took place on 5 and 6 July 2017. We told the service a few days before our visit that we would be coming to ensure the people we needed to talk to would be available. This inspection was conducted by two Care Quality Commission inspectors and one Expert by Experience who contacted 14 people who used the service and gained their views over the telephone. An Expert by Experience is a member of the public who themselves has had experience of receiving care or of supporting a friend or family member in similar circumstances to people supported by Pramacare East Office.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service; this included information we had received from third parties. We also sought the views of people who used the service through issuing questionnaires: these results were analysed and used to provide a view of the service. The local authority who commissions the service were asked for their views on the care provided by the service.

In addition, 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 improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we visited three people and their relatives in their homes. We spoke with seven members of staff, which included the director of care, the registered manager, the training manager, the locality manager and three care support workers. We checked three people’s care and medicine records in the office and with their permission, the records kept in their home when we visited them. We also saw records about how the service was managed. These included four staff recruitment and monitoring records, staff rotas, training records, audits and quality assurance records as well as a range of the provider’s policies and procedures.

Updated 7 September 2017

This inspection was announced and took place on 5 and 6 July 2017. We gave the provider a few days’ notice to ensure people and staff we needed to speak with were available.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

Pramacare East Office provides personal care and support to people who live in their own homes. The service is a registered charity and their stated vision is, ‘A world where no-one is unfairly disadvantaged or excluded because of age or infirmity and where every person can enjoy life as they age’.

Relatives and people we spoke with were very satisfied with the service provided by Pramacare East Office. people received excellent personalised care and support. Staff were supportive, kind and respectful. Staff took time to listen to people and get to know how they preferred their care and support to be given. People told us they found the staff to be kind, caring and compassionate, they said staff often went the extra mile to help and support them. People felt safe with the care staff and staff knew the correct procedures on how to respond and report potential abuse.

The provider had implemented a range of innovative projects to provide additional help and support for people and staff.

Staff were given enough time to provide effective care and support to people and told us they felt very well supported by the manager and the management team. There was a robust recruitment process for staff that ensured people were cared and supported by staff who had been safely recruited.

Staff received a programme of regular training and supervision which ensured they were provided with the relevant skills and support to develop their role and provide effective care and support for people in their own homes. One member of staff told us, “Their training is very good indeed.”

Medicines were managed safely and people received support and assistance to ensure they received their medicines as prescribed.

People's rights were protected because staff and management had a good working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Staff understood people’s care plans, which were clearly written and enabled staff to provide person centred support and care. People and staff told us communication within the company was good. Staff said they felt well supported and had a team of people they could contact if they needed further advice and guidance.

The service provided outstanding levels of caring. People told us staff often went the extra mile to make sure they had everything they needed.

Environmental risk assessments on people’s homes had been completed. These were completed before care commenced to ensure any risks to staff and people were minimised.

There was a clear complaints process, people knew how to raise complaints and felt any concerns or queries would be dealt with quickly.

There were robust quality assurance systems and a range of policies and procedures to enable people to receive safe, effective care and support in their own homes.