Liberty Private Care Ltd

Liberty Private Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people at home. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This means help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. There were 12 people using the service at the time of the inspection receiving a regulated activity of personal care.

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

The computer system designed to manage the safe administration of medicine was not robust and did not always show medicines were being administered in accordance with the prescriber's instructions. We have made a recommendation to the provider about the safe management of medicines.

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 did not always support this practice. We have made a recommendation about keeping records in line with the mental capacity act.

We found the service had dealt with accidents and incidents effectively to ensure people remained safe from harm however, information had not always been shared appropriately with the local safeguarding team. We have made a recommendation about informing the local safeguarding team of incidents to ensure external scrutiny of the service.

Whilst the service did not currently support any autistic person or person with a learning disability, staff had not completed training in learning disability and autism. We have made a recommendation about providing this training in line with legal requirements.

Suitable numbers of staff supported people however, we were told staff were often late to calls because they did not have enough time to travel in between clients.

People told us the staff were kind and caring and they felt safe. One person said, “I do feel very safe with [staff] and look forward to their arrival.” Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing had been assessed to ensure people were safe. Staff had plentiful access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and systems were in place to protect people from the spread of infections.

People’s care needs were assessed before they started using the service to ensure their needs could be met. Staff had completed mandatory training and were able to access additional training to ensure the needs of the people using the service were met.

The service worked well with other organisations and healthcare professionals. We received positive feedback from people who felt the service had identified concerns and sought medical attention before they became a problem.

People felt the service was well run by the provider who knew people well. The provider was open and honest throughout the inspection and had a lesson learned process in place. The provider was keen to celebrate good care and learn lessons when areas of improvements were identified.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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 25 February 2020).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing levels, Mental Capacity Act, staff training and safeguarding. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

Recommendations

We have made some recommendations please see our summary, safe and effective section of this report.

Follow up

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

Liberty Private Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection five people were receiving the regulated activity of care and support from the service. 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.

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

People and relatives spoke positively about the service they received. People received personalised care which was responsive to their individual needs. Staff had a good understanding of the care and support people needed and provided this with care, commitment, kindness and compassion.

Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood their role in identifying and reporting any concerns of potential abuse or poor practice. Risks to people were assessed and regularly reviewed. Staff understood the actions needed to minimise the risk of avoidable harm including the prevention of avoidable infection.

Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Staff were trained in medicines management and knew how to ensure that people received their medicines on time and as they had been prescribed.

There were sufficient numbers of trained, experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed.

Staff received induction and on-going training and support that enabled them to carry out their roles effectively. Staff spoke positively about the training they received which they told us was well delivered and of good quality.

People had access to healthcare services and were involved in decisions about their care and wellbeing. Partnerships with other agencies and health professionals enabled effective outcomes for people.

People were encouraged and supported to eat and drink well. People told us they felt listened to and their views were respected when planning and agreeing what care and support they needed. People told us they received their care form a small, consistent team of staff who knew them and their care needs well.

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 and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and felt they would be addressed appropriately.

There was a system of ongoing monitoring through audits and spot checks to review the quality of the service provided.

People, staff and relatives expressed confidence in the management team and felt the service had a clear management structure and an open and supportive culture.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 7 February 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the service's registration date.

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.