Peak Home Care Ltd was rated Good overall at its February 2016 inspection, with care, responsiveness, safety and leadership all Good. The single area of Requires Improvement related to the effective domain, where mental capacity assessments were absent and consent records showed family members signing documents without clear legal authority.
Concerns (2)
moderate
Consent / capacity
: “We found people's capacity to make decisions was not always assessed. There were no capacity assessments available and no assessments regarding individual decisions.”
moderateConsent / capacity: “Consent to care and support had been sought but we found family members were signing documents when it was unclear whether they had the authority to do so.”
Strengths
· Staff understood safeguarding procedures and reporting responsibilities; people felt safe with their carers.
· Risk assessments were up to date and reflected people's current needs with clear guidance for staff.
· Medicines were managed safely with audits of MAR charts and monitoring of errors for patterns.
· Staff were well trained with induction, regular updates, supervision, appraisal and one-to-one sessions.
· People received personalised, caring support; privacy, dignity and independence were consistently respected.
Quality-Statement breakdown (16)
safe: Safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatmentGood
safe: Assessing and managing risks to peopleGood
safe: Staffing levels and deploymentGood
safe: Recruitment and selectionGood
safe: Medicines managementGood
effective: Mental Capacity Act and consentRequires improvement
effective: Staff training, skills and knowledgeGood
effective: Nutrition and hydrationGood
effective: Health needs and access to healthcareGood
caring: Kindness, respect and compassionGood
caring: Privacy, dignity and independenceGood
caring: Involvement in care planningGood
responsive: Person-centred care and responsiveness to needsGood
responsive: Complaints handlingGood
well-led: Governance and quality monitoringGood
well-led: Leadership, culture and staff supportGood
Peak Home Care Ltd was rated Good across all five key questions at its March 2019 inspection, with 124 people receiving safe, person-centred domiciliary care. Minor issues around medication record-keeping, risk assessment documentation and occasional staffing gaps were identified but promptly addressed by the acting manager.
Concerns (3)
moderateMedication management: “one person's medicines had gone missing. Because accurate records had not been maintained the quantity was not clear.”
minorStaffing levels: “one person that was supported to access the community was not always getting these hours due to staff shortages”
minorRecord keeping: “staff were aware of how to move people safely using equipment the guidance for staff contained in people's documentation could be improved”
Strengths
· People consistently reported feeling safe and staff were described as caring, kind, respectful and patient.
· Robust safeguarding processes in place with staff knowledgeable about reporting procedures.
· Effective complaints handling with most concerns addressed promptly and records maintained.
· Strong person-centred care planning with regular reviews involving people and their families.
· Positive feedback from commissioners and healthcare professionals about quality and flexibility.