Sparkles Healthcare Ltd

Updated 5 May 2022

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 was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people and relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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 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.

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 provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 21 March 2022 and ended on 1 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 22 March 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the service and met with the registered manager. We reviewed documentation in relation to the running of the service and policies and procedures. We reviewed recruitment information for two staff members. We reviewed three care plans, staff training records and audit information. We spoke with one person, five relatives and two staff members to gain their views of the service.

Updated 5 May 2022

About the service

Sparkles Healthcare Ltd provides personal care support to people in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting nine people with personal care needs.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe in the company of staff. Staff had completed safeguarding training and were aware of how to report concerns. Risks to people’s safety was assessed and guidance provided for staff to minimise these risks. People were supported to take their medicines in line with prescriptions. Sufficient staff were available to cover all care calls and people and their relatives confirmed staff arrived on time. Robust recruitment processes were in place to help ensure staff were suitable for their roles.

People were supported by skilled staff who had received training and support relevant to their roles and to people’s needs. Staff had received training infection prevention and control and systems monitored to keep people safe. Staff were aware of the importance of good nutrition to people’s health and well-being. 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.

Staff knew people well and demonstrated a caring approach. People and their relatives told us staff were kind and respected their dignity and independence. People’s care was highly personalised and staff demonstrated a will to ensure people were comfortable with their care. Detailed assessments of people’s needs were completed. This information was used to complete care plans and risk assessments relevant to the person’s needs.

There was a positive culture within the service. Relatives and staff were complimentary about the support they received from the registered manager. Staff were clear about the values of the organisation and the expectations of the service. The registered manager completed regular audits to monitor and improve the quality of the care provided. The registered manager attended a range of forums to ensure they were aware of best practice guidance.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they would meet the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture should they provide care to an autistic person or someone with a learning disability should they support someone in the future.

Right support: The model of care provided support in people’s own homes which maximised people’s choice, control and independence. People were given choice and were involved in decisions around their care.

Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Due to the highly personalised care and staff’s knowledge of people, there was evidence to suggest people would receive person-centred care.

Right culture: There were systems in place to help ensure that the values and culture was such that people could automatically expect a high quality, person-centred service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 January 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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