Premier Care - Halton Branch

We completed this inspection remotely, which means we did not physically visit the office location.

People and relatives were positive about the care provided and consistently told us they felt safe, well supported and treated with kindness, dignity and respect. They spoke positively about the continuity of care provided by regular staff, responsive management, effective communication and the positive impact care had on their wellbeing, recovery and ability to remain independent at home.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding responsibilities, skin integrity management, medicines support and reporting concerns, and most told us they felt supported and had sufficient time to provide care. Evidence showed the provider had policies and processes in place to support safeguarding, complaints management, consent, whistleblowing and partnership working. There was also evidence of positive community engagement and responsive action when concerns or complaints were raised.

However, concerns were identified in relation to governance and record keeping. Although people's experiences of care were largely positive, records did not always provide assurance that care was delivered consistently in line with care plans. We found examples of incomplete recording relating to pressure care, skin integrity monitoring, nutrition, repositioning and medicines-related care. Some care plans contained contradictory, unclear or outdated information and did not always fully reflect risks or guidance from external professionals.

We also identified concerns regarding the effectiveness of oversight of recurring risks, including fire safety incidents, behavioural incidents and medication-related alerts. Audits had previously identified weaknesses in care planning, staff records and call-time monitoring. Although the provider had implemented extensive improvement plans and many actions had been completed, some evidence suggested improvements had not always been consistently embedded or sustained.

Overall, people received caring and person-centred support from committed staff, but further work was needed to strengthen governance systems, record keeping, and quality assurance processes to ensure improvements were consistently maintained and people were fully protected from potential risks.

We have identified a breach in relation to governance and record keeping.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.