About the service:

Prestige Care & Support Ltd is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to 48 adults at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and relatives told us they were generally happy with the care and support provided. People said they felt safe and systems were in place to protect people against the risk of abuse. Risk assessments were in place which set out how to support people in a safe way. People were supported to take their medicines and measures were in place to protect people from the spread of infection. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs. We have made a recommendation about staff recruitment practices.

The service carried out assessments of people’s needs prior to the provision of care to ensure they could meet those needs. People were able to make choices over their daily lives including about what they ate and drank. The service operated within the principles of the Mental capacity Act 2005. The service worked with other agencies to promote people’s health, safety and wellbeing.

People told us staff treated them in a caring and respectful manner. Staff were aware of the importance of promoting people’s independence. Privacy and confidentiality were respected.

Care plans were in place setting out the individual needs of people and people had been involved in developing these. They were subject to review, so they were able to reflect people’s needs as they changed over time. Complaints procedures were in place and people were provided with a copy of these procedures.

People and staff told us they found senior staff to be approachable and supportive. Various quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place, some of which included seeking the views of people and their relatives.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection this service was rated as Good. The report from that inspection was published on 26 October 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

This inspection took place on 28 September 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service in people’s own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to assist with the inspection. It was the first inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in December 2014. The service moved to a new location in June 2015.

Prestige Care and Support provides personal care and support to people in their own homes, within east London. At the time of our inspection, approximately 49 people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered care homes, 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.

Systems were in place to ensure people were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff were aware of the different types of abuse and how to respond. People had their individual risks assessed and staff were aware of the plans to manage the risks.

People received care at home from staff who understood their needs. People received their prescribed medicines safely, which were administered by staff who had received training to do this.

Staff had been recruited following appropriate checks and the provider had sufficient numbers of staff available to provide support to people.

People told us they received support from staff who understood their preferences and encouraged them to remain as independent as possible. People were treated with privacy and dignity. People were listened to by staff and were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs.

Staff received essential training in a number of topics that were important for them to be able to carry out their roles. Staff told us that they received support and encouragement from the registered manager and were provided opportunities to develop in their roles. Staff were able to raise any concerns and were confident that they would be addressed.

People and their relatives were encouraged to express their views and give feedback about their care. They told us they felt confident they could raise any issues and that action would be taken. Some people were not always happy about not having regular care workers, some care workers arriving late and not having confidence in their care worker’s level of training. We have made recommendations about these.

The registered manager was committed to developing the service and monitoring the quality of care provided to people. The registered manager ensured that regular checks were completed and looked at where improvements could be made.