Prime Care Support Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

People received person centred care from a staff team who knew them well as individuals. However, some people told us they would prefer a more consistent staff team, and some care plans could have contained more detail about how to support people with their specific support needs.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We received mixed feedback from people and relatives about having person centred care particularly focused on issues such as not having a consistent staff team, staff speaking in languages people did not understand or people’s choices of carers not being adhered to. One person said, ‘‘The problem is there are so many new staff now. I never know who is coming and it unnerves me with so many new people I have not met before.’’ A relative said, ‘‘It is frustrating when new staff arrive who have not supported [family member] before. It upsets them and makes it harder for staff to support them. Another person said, ‘‘[Staff] will speak in a language I do not understand even whilst they are supporting me. I do not know what they are saying which worries me.’’ A relative said, ‘‘There can definitely be a language barrier sometimes which makes it harder for [family member] and the carers to get on I think.’’ Another person said, ‘‘I have requested to only have [gender of staff], but it does not happen.’’ A relative explained how their family member requested only a certain gender of staff but often this was not the case, so they felt they had to help instead. We fed this back to the registered manager who told us they would meet with people to discuss their preferences. They also assured us and showed us evidence they would review care visits to help ensure continuity of carers as far as possible.

Staff spoke with us about what person-centred care meant to them and knew people well as individuals. They were able to explain people’s preferences likes and dislikes and how they supported them in line with these. The registered manager explained how they supported staff to have the training and knowledge to support people in a person-centred manner. For example, they made sure staff had training to support people living with dementia. People’s care plans were person centred for the most part and gave a good level of detail about how to support people with their specific needs. They also contained information about people’s past histories and how this shaped how they would like to be supported.

Some people told us they were supported by a consistent group of staff. One person said, ‘‘I have the same group of carers come to visit me and they are more like family than carers now.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘We see the same faces the majority of the time. They get on really well with [family member].’’ People and relatives gave mostly positive feedback about how they were supported when they started using the service. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] made me feel very welcome and treated my home with respect from the get-go.’’

Staff told us that where possible they worked together consistently with the same people. The registered manager and management team reviewed staffing rotas to try and make sure people received support from a consistent staff team.

Professionals were positive about how staff supported people in line with their advice and guidance. This supported people to have continuity of support between services.

Processes were in place to ensure care provision, integration and continuity. For example, the management team audited various aspects of people’s support to help ensure staff were supporting people in the same way. The providers assessment process was effective in integrating people in to using the service.

We received mixed feedback from people about how staff provided them with information such as which staff would be supporting them. One person said, ‘‘I never know who us coming to support me. I ask the staff helping me, but they often do not know either and I do not get a list of who is coming for my visits.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘It would be good to know about any changes to carers in advance, but we often do not know who is coming.’’ People and relatives also said they sometimes felt they did not receive regular communication from the office and carers sometimes did not have this information. For example, a relative explained, ‘‘It would be good to know what is going on at the service especially with so may staff changes, just so we know who might be coming to support [family member].’’ A person said, ‘‘It can take a long while to get a response to queries from the office.’’ Other people and relatives told us they were provided with information in a timely way by the service. One relative said, ‘‘We receive regular updates from the office and staff are always very well informed.’’

Staff told us how they communicated with people who did not use verbal communication. For example, they explained how they would use signs or observed people’s body language to help people understand information and make sure they had done. The registered manager explained how they provided information to people and relatives on a regular basis and encouraged them to contact the management team if they needed any further information.

Processes were in place to provide people with information. Staff were trained to support people with different communication methods in line with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). The management team produced documents such as policies and procedures in accessible formats for people to use and communicated updates and information to people and their relatives on a regular basis.

We received mixed feedback from people and relatives about how they were listened to and involved in their care and support. One person said, ‘‘I have never seen a care plan or anything. I have spoken to the management team on a few occasions, and it can take a long time for them to respond or sometimes I don’t hear back.’’ A relative said, ‘‘It is sometimes hard to get a response from the management team. Some of the carers who support [family member] are really good but others do not seem to listen as well as they could do.’’ Another relative told us, ‘‘I have never been asked to be involved or give feedback about [family members] care and support.’’ Other people were more positive and told us they felt the staff and management team listened to them and involved them in their care and support. One person said, ‘‘If we ever have a problem then I just tell the staff, and they listen to me and sort things out.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘We have regular chats about [family members] support and feel involved in any and all decisions that are made.’’

Staff told us they listened and involved people in all aspects of their day-to-day support. For example, speaking with people about their day as they supported them and asking their opinions on how the staff were supporting them. The management team told us they had regular discussions and reviews with people and their relatives to help make sure their views about their care and support were considered.

Processes were in place to listen to and involve people in their support. For example, surveys were sent out to people to ask for feedback about the service and people and relatives were asked to be involved in discussions about their care and support. However, it was sometimes difficult to see how people’s feedback was used to inform their care and support. There was limited evidence of how survey results were used to improve and inform the service and also unclear how people and their relatives were involved in feeding back about their care and support plans. The registered manager showed us how they would improve in this area and told us they would implement other ways of involving people in their care and support such as individual conversations. There was a good process in place to listen to any concerns raised by people and their relatives, however some people and relatives did not feel these concerns were responded to in a timely manner. The registered manager assured us they would review to see if any improvements could be made to this process.

People told us they had good experiences when they started using the service. A relative said, ‘‘The process when [family member] started using the service was very smooth.’’ Where necessary staff supported people to appointments or organised appointments for them. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] know when I am seeing [health professional] and make sure everything is ready for me. If they are here, they help me talk to [health professional] as well.’’

Staff told us the signs they would look for which may indicate a person needed support from another service. Staff were supported by the management team to hand over any vital information to other professionals if a person went to another service such as hospital. Staff knew people well and supported them to have their needs known by other services promoting equity for people when they accessed and used these.

Professionals did not give us specific feedback about this quality statement. However, they were positive about how staff supported people and how well they followed any advice given.

Processes were in place to help ensure equity in access. For example, the management and staff team shared information about how best to support people with other professionals if people needed to access their services. Some people had staff support to attend appointments and processes were in place to support staff to do this in the best way possible.

People told us staff supported them to have good outcomes. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] are angels and have changed my life. I never thought I would be able to [complete task independently] again but I can now thanks to their help.’’ Another person explained how staff had been supporting them with their mobility and they were now able to walk more easily. A relative told us, ‘‘With the help of the staff team [family member’s] health has improved a lot, and they are no longer living with [health concern.] People’s care plans and daily records showed people were supported to access the community on a regular basis if this was part of their package of support and this had a positive impact on people.

Staff told us how they spoke with people about their aspirations and what they wanted to achieve whilst they were being supported. They told us these were shared with them and recorded in people’s care plans so they could support them to work towards and achieve their desired goals and outcomes. The management team discussed what people would like to achieve with them on a regular basis and made efforts to share these with the staff team.

Processes were in place to support people to experience good outcomes. However, sometimes these were not always effective. For example, care plans indicated what people’s goals were, but not specifically how staff would support them to achieve them or whether or not people’s goals had been achieved. Staff did not record in daily records how people were being supported to have good outcomes. The registered manager told us they would look at these areas and see if any improvements could be made. The registered manager also showed us evidence of people being supported to achieve positive outcomes. It was clear people had been supported to have positive experiences whilst being supported by the staff team.

People and their relatives told us staff supported them with dignity and respect at the end of their life. One relative said, ‘‘I am very grateful to the staff team for the care they show [family member]. They are very happy and comfortable.’’

Staff spoke with us about how they supported people at the end of their life if this support was needed. Staff had training in this, and the management team also had good working relationships with other professionals who could support them if necessary.

Processes were in place to support people to plan for the future if they chose to do this. People had care plans in place to plan for the future if they chose to put these in place and these detailed how staff should support people at this time in line with their preferences.