Seremed Healthcare

Seremed Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. There were three people using the service at the time of the inspection all of whom were receiving 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

Information about risks to people was not always comprehensive. More robust systems were needed to gather safety related information to look for themes or trends or to help identify learning.

We were not assured, that the governance systems in place were being fully effective, or reliable, at driving improvements and ensuring that the fundamental standards were being met. We were concerned that the registered manager was not, in practice, in day to day management of the service, or that they had a sufficient oversight of the provision of care.

People and their relatives were positive about staffing and told us they received a consistent and reliable service. Overall, relevant recruitment checks were in place including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Staff followed safe infection control practices. Staff knew how to recognise the signs of abuse.

People and their relatives had confidence in the skills and knowledge of the care team. New or inexperienced staff were mentored and guided, but ongoing supervision and training was not taking place consistently. There was scope to develop care plans to create more accurate, personalised and comprehensive plans that more fully described the person’s needs and how these were to be met. There was mixed evidence about how effectively staff monitored people’s health. People were supported with preparation of food and drinks.

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

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff spoke positively about their work and the importance of building strong relationships with people. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and promoted people’s independence.

Staff provided people with person-centred support and people received consistent, timely care and support from staff who knew them well and understood their needs. A complaints policy was in place. Staff worked with healthcare professionals to ensure people experienced a comfortable and dignified death however, people’s priorities for their future care had not been incorporated into an end of life or advanced care plan.

The registered manager had instilled a positive work culture where staff felt valued. Feedback from people and their relatives indicated that they felt the service was well managed. They described staff as working well as a team and displaying person centred values and behaviours including compassion and respect and the promotion of independence.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 4 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection so that we could give this registered service a rating.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to risk management and the effectiveness of the governance arrangements.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.