17 January 2017
During a routine inspection
Apex Blandford is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing support to 34 people.
There was 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.
People and staff told us the service was well run and they felt supported by the registered manager and office staff. Staff told us they had enough travelling time scheduled between visits which meant that people generally received their care on time. If staff were delayed people were contacted and advised of the delay. People told us they did not feel rushed.
People were supported by staff who were recruited safely and were familiar to them. People and relatives felt that staff had the sufficient skills and knowledge to support them. .New staff received a comprehensive induction and completed the Care Certificate to ensure they were competent to carry out care work. All staff received supervision and an annual appraisal and were encouraged to complete further training.
There was an open culture and staff felt confident they were able to make suggestions. One member of staff gave us an example of when they had influenced changes to a person’s care plan
People were consistently positive about staff and described them as caring. Staff spoke warmly about people and told us they loved their work.
People had a pre- assessment and their care plans were developed in collaboration with them. This meant people’s care plans were personalised and reflected their preferred routines and included details which were important for them. .
Staff were aware of their responsibilities in protecting people from harm and knew how to report any concerns about people's safety or wellbeing. People had individual risk assessments and staff understood the risks people faced and their role in managing these.
Staff understood what support people needed to manage their medicines safely and there were checks in place to ensure these were given as prescribed.
Staff understood how to support people to make choices about the care they received, and encouraged people to make decisions about their care.
There were quality assurance systems in place which meant that areas for improvement were identified and actions were followed through to ensure improvements were made.
Staff told us communication was excellent and they felt listened to and kept informed of changes. This included changes to people’s care and support needs.