This first inspection of Apex Prime Care - Newman Court rated the extra care domiciliary service Good overall, with Caring rated Requires Improvement due to mixed feedback about staff manner, rushed calls and a failure to inform a family of a hospital admission. Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led were all Good, with strengths in medicines management, safeguarding, risk assessment, staff training and partnership working.
Concerns (6)
moderate
Person-centred care
: “Sometimes the staff are not very welcoming or friendly... had not always found all staff to be kind and compassionate. They had not always felt heard, respected or validated by all staff.”
moderateStaffing levels: “The carers are very stretched, especially the teatime to evening shifts, so I know they can't always stay the full time.”
moderateCommunication with families: “Staff had failed to confirm if a person's family had been informed of their loved one's admission to hospital or to maintain contact as per the provider's hospital admissions policy.”
minorConsent / capacity: “The provider's 'Decision making and the MCA' policy, did not reference the actions to take if a person was assessed as lacking the capacity to make a specific decision.”
minorComplaints handling: “Some people we spoke with said they did not know how to raise a complaint.”
minorGovernance: “since the change of provider there had not been a complete transition to ensure staff used all of the provider's required paperwork, for example, for incident reports.”
Strengths
· Safe medicines management with competency assessments and MAR audits
· Robust safeguarding processes with staff training and reporting
· Effective risk assessment and information sharing across the team
· Safe recruitment processes including DBS checks
· Continuity of staff with no agency use
Quality-Statement breakdown (25)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseNot rated
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementNot rated
safe: Staffing and recruitmentNot rated
safe: Using medicines safelyNot rated
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionNot rated
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongNot rated
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawNot rated
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceNot rated
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietNot rated
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careNot rated
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceNot rated
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityNot rated
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careNot rated
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceNot rated
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesNot rated
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsNot rated
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationNot rated
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsNot rated
responsive: End of life care and supportNot rated
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsNot rated
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringNot rated
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourNot rated
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffNot rated
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careNot rated
well-led: Working in partnership with othersNot rated