This inspection was announced and took place on15 November 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of inspection to ensure the registered manager would be available to meet us at the provider’s office and also to make arrangements for us to visit some of the people in their own homes. The last inspection of the service was carried out on 26 September 2014. This was a follow-up inspection, to check the provider's progress against areas where we found non-compliance on our previous inspection visit. At this inspection we found improvements had taken place.
Agincare UK Ferndown is a domiciliary care agency that provides a visiting service and assistance with personal care needs. They are registered to provide personal care. At the time of this inspection they were providing personal care and support for 170 people in their own homes.
There is 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.
People and their relatives were very complimentary about the quality of the service provided and about the management and staff team. They felt the care was exceptionally good. One person said, “They always rally around and go above and beyond. I have been supported for many years by the service and always feel well cared for”.
People we spoke with felt they received support from familiar and consistent care workers. They told us they would recommend the service to other people. They confirmed care workers arrived on time and had the skills and knowledge to provide the support they needed. One person told us, “It is great care, but I am in control of how I want the care delivered. I get a weekly rota and always know who is coming to support me. If it is going to be someone different they let me know”.
The provider had effective systems to manage staff rosters, match staff skills with people’s needs and identify what capacity they had to take on new care packages. This meant that the service only took on new work if they knew there were the right staff available to meet people’s needs.
The office administration team planned visits to make sure staff arrived to each person at the agreed time. Staff told us they had enough time to travel and complete their duties.
The provider had a recruitment procedure that ensured the suitability of staff was checked before they began work. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and all said they were confident that any issues raised would be appropriately addressed by the registered manager. People felt safe with the staff who supported them.
Staff completed an induction when they first started working at the home. They also shadowed more experienced staff and worked through an induction booklet. This covered information about the provider, HR topics, and all aspects of caring for people and managing risks, and essential health and safety subjects such as fire, infection control and manual handling. The registered manager told us the provider had a training department which enabled staff to receive specific training to meet individual needs.
Risk assessments included risks associated with people’s homes and risks to the person using the service. Staff had access to care plans and risk assessments and were aware of how to protect people from risks of harm.
Care was planned and delivered in a way that was personalised to each person. Staff monitored people’s healthcare needs and, where changes in needs were identified, care was adjusted to make sure people continued to receive care which met their needs and supported their independence. Care plans gave clear information about the support people required to meet both their physical and emotional needs and had information about what was important to the person.
People received help with their medicines from staff who were trained to safely support them and
who made sure they had their medicine when they needed it. The provider undertook regular competency checks on staff to ensure they followed safe practice when supporting people.
The provider had a clear vision, which was to provide a service which was influenced by the needs and wishes of the people who used it. There was a commitment to providing high quality care which was tailored to people’s individual wishes. Their vision and values were communicated to staff through staff meetings, supervisions and a regular newsletter. People’s views were gathered by regular monitoring visits and phone calls and by satisfaction surveys
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and plan on-going improvements. The results of a satisfaction survey had been very positive and people had expressed a high level of satisfaction with the service provided. People using the service and staff felt involved and able to make suggestions or raise concerns.