AMG Nursing and Care Services - Nottingham

Updated 11 June 2021

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 carried out by an inspector, assistant inspector and two Expert by Experiences (EXE). An EXE 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 houses and flats.

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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because due to Covid-19 restrictions we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 May 2021 and finished on 19 May 2021. We visited the office location on 12 May 2021

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service and 25 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four care staff, a care coordinator, clinical lead, field supervisor, registered manager and a representative of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records, medication administration records and the daily notes recorded by care staff. We looked at three 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 and training records.

After the inspection

We asked the registered manager to provide us with a variety of policies and procedures and additional information. All information was sent within the required timeframe. We used all this information to help form our judgements detailed within this report.

Updated 11 June 2021

About the service

AMG Nursing and Care Services - Nottingham is a domiciliary home care service providing personal and nursing care to 132 people at the time of the inspection. This included adults living with complex health needs, people coming to the end of their life and people who required short term care following a stay in hospital or who had become unwell at home.

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.

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

Improvements had been made since the last inspection on the way risk was assessed, acted on and mitigated. Procedures for ensuring people consistently received medicines safely had also improved.

The provider had processes and policies in place that reduced the risk of people experiencing avoidable harm. There were enough staff in place to meet people’s care needs. People told us calls were carried out on time and by a consistent team of staff.

Robust infection control and COVID-19 policies meant the risk of the spread of infection was reduced. The provider ensured staff learned from mistakes with increased training and supervision where needed.

People received care and treatment that protected them from discrimination. Staff were well trained and received supervision of their role and assessment of their competency. People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. Staff worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to provide timely and effective 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 praised the approach of staff. Staff were respectful, caring and treated them with dignity. People were offered choices about how their care was provided, this included whether they wanted male or female members of staff. People’s independence was widely promoted with many people improving their health to an extent where care hours could be reduced or cease altogether.

People received care that was personalised to their needs, choices and preferences. The provider had systems in place to enable them to provide documentation in alternative formats; making information accessible for all. The provider responded to formal complaints in accordance with their complaints policy. Processes were place to provide people with the care they wanted as they approached the end of their life.

People praised the office-based staff and management. People and staff felt listened to and their issues and concerns were always acted on. People and relatives told us they would recommend this service to others.

Robust quality assurance processes were in place. The registered manager worked with the provider to continually assess and improve the quality of care people received. The registered manager was knowledgeable about the regulatory requirements of their role and they were supported by the provider to carry out their role effectively.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 26 July 2019).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for AMG Nursing and Care Services - Nottingham on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.