Glenavon Care Limited

Glenavon Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 72 people at the time of the inspection.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Although people told us they felt safe with staff they did not always receive visits on time and were not always informed when staff were running late or had been replaced.

We received some negative feedback about how the service was led. Some people and their relatives told us communication was poor; this mainly related to care call visits. Management checks were not in place to monitor call timings and consideration had not been given to the impact late visits and inconsistent staffing would have on people.

We were mindful of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the service and the strain it had placed on service users, staff and the management team. Following the inspection, the provider spoke about the plans they had in place to address the concerns found during the inspection, including recruiting additional senior staff to support the registered manager.

Staff were recruited safely and underwent all the necessary checks.

Medicines were managed safely. Systems were in place to monitor staff competencies to administer medication and identify and address concerns.

Systems and process to help minimise the risk of cross infection were in place. Staff had received additional training and personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 19 October 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the leadership of the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We have found evidence the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Glenavon Care Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Glenavon Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection there were 81 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There was a new registered manager since our last inspection. We received positive feedback from people, families, staff and professionals about their commitment and enthusiasm. A relative told us, “ They do listen and try to do what we want, it’s not completely done but it’s much improved.” The management changes and turnover in staff had caused a temporary period of unrest. However, the provider and registered manager had responded well and taken effective action to make things better. There was a passion for continually improving and investing in the service.

Senior staff checked the care to ensure it met people’s needs. The provider was arranging additional external checks which would provide increased oversight and help ensure the systems worked well and people received good care.

The registered manager investigated concerns about people’s safety and took action to make the service safer. There were improved measures in place to assess and manage risk across the service. A new on-call log promoted communication and consistency outside of office hours.

There were enough safely recruited staff to meet people’s needs. There were effective systems in place to monitor staff visits and ensure people received the agreed support. Staff supported people to take medicines safely and checks on staff competency in this area were improving.

Staff were supported to develop their skills. The provider and registered manager were investing and promoting improvements in staff training. Senior staff carried out observations to ensure people were receiving a good quality of support.

Staff worked effectively to enable people to maintain their health and wellbeing, involving families and health and social care professionals when required. Staff worked alongside other professionals to meet the needs of people who required palliative care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff knew people’s needs well and provided consistent personalised support. People told us poor care was not tolerated and the overall attitude and approach of care staff had improved. Staff were respectful and treated people with dignity.

The provider and registered manager were improving care plans to ensure care records reflected the good care staff provided. People had a say in the service they received. Staff communicated well with people to review and adapt care to reflect changing needs. People and families were supported to raise concerns and make complaints and the service adapted the care provided in response to this information.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 26 January 2017 )

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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

Glenavon Care is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. They predominantly provide a service for older adults, some of whom may be living with dementia or may have a physical disability. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 86 people using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, 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. The director of the company was the registered manager and there was also a general manager.

When we last visited the service we found staff did not have enough information to keep people safe and meet their individual needs. There were insufficient measures in place to check people were receiving a good quality care service. At this inspection we found people received a much improved service and there were systems in place to help ensure people’s needs were met in a safe and effective manner.

People were supported to remain safe in their own homes. Staff knew what to do if they were concerned a person was not safe. Individual risk assessments had been carried out and measures put in place to minimise potential harm. In response to a growing service, the manager was improving systems to manage risk within the organisation. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Staff had sufficient time to meet people’s needs safely and in a personalised way. The provider had a robust recruitment process which helped protect people from the risk of avoidable harm.

Staff received good quality training which enabled them to meet people’s needs effectively. People were given choices when receiving care and the service was meeting its responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act. People were supported to consume food and drink of their choice. Staff worked well with people to help them maintain good health and to access health care professionals, where necessary.

People were treated with compassion and respect by staff. Care plans were in place which outlined people’s needs in a detailed way, which enabled staff to provide an individualised service. When people made a complaint senior staff were dedicated to providing a personalised response and avoiding future errors.

There was a visible owner and manager who were committed to providing a good quality service and continually driving improvements. There were thorough measures in place to check the quality of the service people received. The management team worked well together and supported staff to be motivated and dedicated.