Background to this inspection
Updated
11 September 2018
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.
This inspection took place on 6,13,16 and 18 July 2018 and was announced.
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available.
The inspection started on 6 July and ended on 18 July 2018. It included making telephone calls to people using the service, relatives and staff. We visited the office location on 13 July 2018 to meet with the registered manager, to review people’s care records, and policies and procedures.
The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector, one assistant inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
The provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us a PIR at least once annually, to give us key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information within the PIR and other information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications about important events at the service, which the provider must tell us about. We also contacted commissioners and no information of concern was received about the provider.
During the inspection we spoke with five people over the telephone and visited two people within their own homes. We spoke with nine care staff, the registered manager and the business manager.
We reviewed the care records in relation to six people using the service. We reviewed five staff recruitment files and sample checked the staff training records. We looked at records relating to the management oversight and monitoring of all aspects of the service. These included quality audits, spot checks, complaints, compliments and a sample of the providers policies and procedures.
Updated
11 September 2018
This inspection took place on 6,13,16 and 18 July 2018 and was announced.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to younger and older adults, children and people with disabilities.
Not everyone using Prestige Nursing Northampton receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
A registered manager was in post. 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 were protected from the risk of harm. Staff had been trained in safeguarding people and understood how to report any concerns of abuse. Risks to people’s safety were assessed to ensure preventative action was taken to reduce the risk of harm to people.
People were supported with their medicines in a safe way. People’s nutritional needs were met and they were supported with their health care needs when required. The service worked with other organisations to ensure that people received coordinated care and support.
People were protected by safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable to work in care services. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff received training for their role and ongoing support and supervision to work effectively.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The provider, manager and staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and gained people's consent before they were supported.
People were involved all aspects of their care. People’s care plans information available about people’s preferences, daily routines and diverse cultural needs. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and preferences and worked flexibly to ensure they were met.
People and their relatives were happy with staff who provided their personal care and had developed positive trusting relationships. People were treated with dignity and respect, and their rights to privacy were upheld.
People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and this was used to drive continuous improvement. People and relatives all spoke positively about the staff team and how the service was managed. The provider had a process in place which ensured people could raise any complaints or concerns.
The registered manager and staff team were committed to following the vision and values of the service in providing good quality care. The registered manager was aware of their legal responsibilities and provided effective leadership and support to staff. Quality assurance systems were used to monitor and assess the quality of the service to drive continuous improvement. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies to meet people’s needs.