Personal Assistant Recruitment and Employment Service (PARES)

Updated 13 February 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector

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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 27 January 2020 and ended on 30 January 2020. We visited the office location on 27 January 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We also considered information from the provider information return completed in June 2019. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with the provider’s nominated individual, registered manager and an office staff member. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and 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. We spoke with six relatives of people receiving a service and five care staff members. We viewed additional information the provider sent to us and contacted two professionals who regularly involvement with the service.

Updated 13 February 2020

About the service

Personal Assistant Recruitment and Employment Service (PARES) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for people with a range of needs including people with dementia, learning or physical disabilities and autism.

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 the service was providing a personal care service for approximately ten people living on the Isle of Wight.

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

People and their relatives were happy with the care provided and felt staff were caring and compassionate. Care staff were skilled in delivering people's care in the way they preferred. They knew people well, which ensured their preferred routines were met. People and their relatives were involved with planning and reviewing their care.

People 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.

People told us they received safe care. Risk assessments were completed for people which identified any risks and how these should be managed. Staff had completed training in the safe administration of medicines.

Care staff understood the importance of safeguarding people they supported, and they knew how to report any signs of abuse, or any accidents and incidents.

Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place to help ensure only suitable staff were employed. Staff received an induction into their role and had received appropriate training that equipped them to support people.

A complaints procedure was in place, which people confirmed they were aware of. Concerns and complaints were listened to, addressed in a timely manner and resolved quickly.

Staff, people and relatives told us they had a good relationship with the management team and could seek support and assistance easily when needed. There were effective systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection The last rating for this service was Good (published 21 July 2017).

Why we inspected This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.