Pendrea Home Care

Pendrea Home Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to older adults in the Bodmin, Wadebridge, St Austell and Bude areas of Cornwall. This includes people with physical disabilities and dementia care needs. The service mainly provides personal care for people in short visits at key times of the day to help people get up in the morning, go to bed at night and support with meals. At the time of our inspection 60 people were receiving a personal care service. These services were funded either privately, through Cornwall Council or NHS funding.

People, and their relatives, told us they were happy with the care they received and believed it was a safe service. Staff treated people respectfully and asked people how they wanted their care and support to be provided. People and their relatives commented, "It makes me feel safe because of their kindness", "I am pleased with the care my husband has" and "The care is very good, they really look after me."

The management team ensured there were enough staff to safely meet people's needs by monitoring the care packages being delivered and only taking on new packages when enough suitably qualified staff were available. Staff rotas were planned in advance and staff were matched to the needs of the people using the service. People told us they received a reliable service and had regular staff who visited them. People had agreed the times of their visits and were kept informed of any changes. No one reported ever having had any missed visits. People told us, "It is a very reliable and good service", "They are always on time" and "They always phone if they are going to be late."

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and knew how to recognise if people's needs changed. Staff were aware of people's preferences and interests, as well as their health and support needs, which enabled them to provide a personalised service. People who needed help taking their medicines were appropriately supported by staff. Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. All were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected.

Care plans provided staff with direction and guidance about how to meet people's individual needs and wishes. These care plans were regularly reviewed and any changes in people's needs were communicated to staff. Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included any environmental risks in people's homes and any risks in relation to the care and support needs of the person.

People's rights were protected by staff who under stood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how this applied

to their role. Nobody we spoke with said they felt they had been subject to any discriminatory practice for example on the grounds of their gender, race, sexuality, disability or age.

At the last inspection we found that recruitment checks on new staff were not always thorough or completed before new staff started to provide care for people. At this inspection the necessary improvements had been made and appropriate checks had been completed, before staff were employed, to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Training records showed staff had been provided with all the necessary training which had been refreshed regularly. Staff told us they had "lots of training" and found the training to be beneficial to their role. Staff said they were encouraged to attend training to develop their skills, and their career. Staff completed a thorough induction programme prior to providing people's care. The Induction of new members of staff was effective and fully complied with the requirements of the Care Certificate.

Staff told us they enjoyed their work and were well supported through supervision, appraisals and training. In addition 'spot checks' by management were completed regularly to help ensure each member of staff was providing appropriate standards of care and support. Staff were complimentary about the management team and how they were supported to carry out their work. The management team were also clearly committed to providing a good service for people. Comments from staff included, "Pendrea is an amazing company to work for and you are given the opportunity to progress" and "You can speak with the manager anytime and the seniors are amazing. You get 100% support" and "You always feel you can speak with the manager."

There were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and to seek people's views about the service. This helped the management team to be aware of any areas where improvements could be made and implement changes when necessary. The management welcomed feedback and used the results of surveys and any complaints to drive improvement. People told us they were regularly asked for their views about the quality of the service they received. People had details of how to raise a complaint and told us they would be happy to make a complaint if they needed to.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found