Archived: Sandwell Care Services

Updated 5 July 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service, and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as allegations of abuse. We sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed the care records of four people to see how their care was planned and delivered, as well as their medicine administration records. We looked at four recruitment, training and supervision records for staff. We also looked at records which supported the registered manager and the provider to monitor the quality and management of the service. We spoke with the registered manager and deputy manager.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with five staff, five people using the service and two relatives. We also spoke with one professional.

Updated 5 July 2019

About the service:

Sandwell Care Services is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 49 people were receiving care and support services.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they felt safe and staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm or abuse. People’s risks were assessed, monitored and managed. People were supported by enough that had been safely recruited. Medicines were given as prescribed. Staff had access to personal protective equipment. Accidents and incidents were monitored and reviewed. The registered manager informed us as require doing so by law.

People were cared for by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs, Staff understood their role and felt supported by the management team. Staff sought people’s consent before care was provided. People were supported to access healthcare agencies when required.

People told us staff were kind in their approach. People told us their dignity and privacy was maintained and they were involved in the planning and review of their care.

People received care that was responsive to their needs. Care records were reflective and up to date. The provider had a complaints process in place which people were aware of and knew how to access.

The provider had quality auditing and monitoring systems in place which included competency checks on staff practice. People and staff said the provider and management team were approachable and the culture of the organisation open and friendly.

Rating at last inspection: At our last inspection in December 2016 we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risk or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service had not changed since the last inspection.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

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

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