Real PCS Solihull

Updated 6 July 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an onsite inspector and an Expert by Experience, who spoke with people by telephone. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 72 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 25 April 2022 and ended on 23 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 25 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people about their experience of care provided. We spoke with four

members of staff, including the registered manager and three healthcare assistants. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 6 July 2022

About the service

Real PCS Solihull is a domiciliary care and supported living service providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. They were providing a service to 23 people at the time of inspection; four of whom were receiving personal care. No people from the supported living setting were receiving 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.

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

Risks to people’s health and safety were not always recorded comprehensively to ensure staff had current knowledge of how to provide individual care safely. People’s medicines were not always administered according to national best practice guidance. There was not always enough numbers of staff at the service to provide care calls. Systems were in place to maintain people’s safety and staff were aware of their safeguarding responsibilities.

Staff did not receive accredited training for some care tasks relating to people’s complex needs. Not all complex needs were comprehensively assessed to ensure personalised care was planned effectively. People were supported to eat and drink to maintain their health and the service worked alongside other health and social care professionals to ensure peoples health was maintained. People were supported to make choices and decisions and staff promoted their independence.

Audits were not always conducted thoroughly in order to identify issues with completeness and accuracy of people’s care documentation. Overall staff felt able to seek support and advice in order to carry out their role when needed. People had accessibility to the management team to raise any matters relating to their care. The provider requested feedback from people regarding the care they received in order to address any changes or improvements required. The service demonstrated openness to continuous learning in order to improve care.

Overall, people felt supported and cared for and staff spoke fondly of the people they supported. Care staff treated people with respect and compassion and ensured people's dignity was maintained.

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.

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 23 October 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safe care and treatment of a person and the potential impact for other people supported by the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe and Well-led section of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.