Home care service 'not always safe'

A HOME care service is Yate has been told to make improvements after an inspection by the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission.

Nobilis Care South Gloucestershire provides personal care for 127 people in their own homes.

The business, based in Armstrong Way, Yate, was inspected in March.

The CQC report identified breaches in relation to people's care plans and medicines records being accurate and complete, and a lack of a robust system in place that identified this shortfall.

It recommended Nobilis seeks guidance relating to complaints, and to cases where people might lack mental capacity.

The CQC said it would continue to monitor information it received about the service, which will help inform when they next visit.

This was the first inspection after the service registered with the CQC in September last year.

A previous provider had been found to require improvement in an inspection report published in March 2021.

The overall rating for the service was 'requires improvement'. It was found to require improvement in areas of safety, service responsiveness, and being well-led.

It had 'good' ratings for its effectiveness and care.

The report said that Nobilis had an action plan in place that identified areas of improvement including medicines administration charts, mental capacity assessments, staff training, supervision and appraisals.

The report said: “The registered manager acknowledged our feedback where some care plans required additional information. They planned to address this with a new quality assurance system and an allocated member of staff to oversee this.”

The report said that some aspects of the service were "not always safe" and there was limited assurance about safety and an increased risk that people could be harmed.

This related to medicines administration charts not always being completed to confirm the person had received their medicines as required.

The report said one issue regarding recording of information was a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and required changes.

The report said limited information was available relating to safeguarding records, including actions, because records had been accidentally shredded.

The inspector said they received “mixed feedback” from people and staff relating to care visits being completed on time, although people were "happy with the support" they received from staff, who were kind and caring.

Staff told the inspector rotas and people's calls were often changed at the last minute.

The CQC said it had received positive feedback from one health care professional with how the registered manager had worked in partnership with them.

The report said: "They told us the registered manager had attended meetings and liaised with them following working with them with a safeguarding concern. They confirmed actions were taken following those meetings.”

The report said the service enabled users to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their care, and people gave examples of how staff supported them with their wishes.

One person told the inspector: “The carers when they are here do ask me about drink choices and anything I would like to have on my bedside tablet at night. They are very thoughtful and considerate.”

The Voice contacted Nobilis Care for comment but has had no response.