Safer Staffing Solutions Ltd

Updated 26 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team was made up of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager was also the nominated individual and the owner of the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 March 2023 and ended on 14 March 2023. We communicated with people using the service and their relatives on 10 and 13 March 2023. We visited the location’s office on 9 and 14 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch, Sheffield. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We communicated via telephone, email and text with 3 people about their experience of the care provided. We met with the registered manager and spoke with four care workers. We looked at written records, which included 2 people’s care records and 3 staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. This included reviewing policies and procedures.

Updated 26 May 2023

About the service

Safer Staffing Solutions Ltd is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 5 people.

Not everyone who used the service received 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

There were systems in place to recognise and respond to any allegations of abuse. Staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults. Safe recruitment procedures made sure staff were of suitable character and background. There were enough staff deployed to meet people’s care and support needs in a timely way. There were effective systems in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff were provided with an effective induction and relevant training to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge for their role. Staff were supported in their jobs through regular supervision and team meetings. 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.

Care records provided person-centred information to enable staff to meet people’s needs and preferences. People told us staff were kind and caring. Staff knew how to treat people with dignity and respect. There were systems in place to respond to complaints. People told us they knew how to complain. Comments about the registered manager were positive. There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Staff had access to a comprehensive set of policies and procedures covering all aspects of service delivery.

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

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 7 December 2022) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 7 December 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 28 July 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve: safe care and treatment; governance; receiving and acting on complaints; person-centred care; staffing; and fit and proper persons employed

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Safer Staffing Solutions Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.