Absolute Care Northwest Ltd, a small domiciliary care agency serving 5 people, retained an overall Good rating following a focused inspection, with strengths in safeguarding, medication management, staffing consistency, and a positive person-centred culture. The Effective domain was downgraded to Requires Improvement due to lapsed staff training in moving and handling and food hygiene, and insufficiently formalised supervision records and governance processes.
Concerns (3)
moderateStaff training: “Some staff training, such as moving and handling and food hygiene had lapsed.”
moderateSupervision / appraisal: “Supervisions were not always recorded, and we could not tell from looking at records when staff had been supervised as part of their role and ongoing development.”
moderateGovernance: “These audits did not take place often, and action plans were not completed. There was other documentation, such as supervisions and appraisals which required more formalisation.”
Strengths
· Staff were trained in safeguarding and understood what action to take if people were being harmed or abused.
· Robust recruitment process including reference checks and DBS checks.
· Staff were trained in medication administration and underwent regular spot checks for competency.
· People and relatives consistently reported feeling safe and praised the service highly.
· Staff communicated effectively with relatives, GPs and District Nurses to ensure timely care.
Quality-Statement breakdown (14)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceRequires improvement
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people; Continuous learning and improving care; Working in partnership with othersGood