Archived: First City Nursing Services Ltd Cheltenham

Updated 1 March 2019

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.

We gave the service prior notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 31 December 2018 and ended on 8 January 2019 when we visited the office location. This inspection was carried out by one inspector. We spoke with the registered manager, the branch manager, the head of operations and quality and one member of care staff. We reviewed care records, staff records and policies and procedures relating to the management of the service. Following the inspection, we spoke with two people using the service, three relatives and three members of staff on the telephone. We also received comments from a social care professional.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we have about the service including notifications. A notification is a report about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

Updated 1 March 2019

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 adults. At the time of our inspection it was providing a service to five adults. One person was receiving care through private arrangements and four people were receiving care through the provider’s bridging service funded by the local authority and designed to enable people ready for hospital discharge to return home without delay.

First City Nursing Services-Cheltenham had a registered manager 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.

The inspection took place on the 31 December 2018 and the 8 January 2019 and was announced. The service was previously rated 'Good' overall; at this inspection we found the service remained 'Good’.

We heard positive comments about the service from people and their relatives such as “Top marks” and “I would certainly recommend this company to other people.”

The service was outstandingly responsive to people's needs. People benefitted from a proactive and supportive approach to meeting their individual needs and enabling them to continue to follow their wish to live in their own homes. The service worked in a creative, co-operative and proactive way with commissioners of services, other service providers and voluntary organisations to ensure people and their relatives benefitted from joined-up care and support.

People were protected from harm and abuse through the knowledge of staff and management. Risks to people's safety were identified, assessed and appropriate action was taken to keep people safe. Staff were recruited using robust procedures.

People were supported by staff who had training and support to maintain their skills and knowledge to meet their needs. 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.

People were treated with respect and kindness and their privacy and dignity was upheld. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. Concerns or complaints were investigated with lessons learned for improving the service.

Quality assurance systems were in operation with the aim of improving the service in response to people's needs. The management were approachable to people using the service, their representatives and staff.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.