Sentimex Care

Updated 24 June 2023

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and 1 Expert by Experience. 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.

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 1 weeks’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that a member of staff would be available to support the inspection.

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 used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 7 February 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Inspection activity started on 28 February 2023 and ended on 12 June 2023. There was a delay completing this inspection due to inspector absence. This meant inspection activity was started in February and not completed until June.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

We spoke with 1 person and 6 relatives of people who used the service. We spoke with 4 social care professionals and 1 health care professional who were involved in the care of people who used the service. We spoke or obtained feedback from 5 staff including the registered manager, the administrator and 3 care workers.

We reviewed the relevant parts of 3 people’s care plans and 2 people’s medicines records. We looked at multiple other records including feedback gathered by the provider, audits, policies, training records and 3 staff recruitment files.

Updated 24 June 2023

About the service

Sentimex Care is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to adults, some of whom may be living with dementia and mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection there were 17 people using the service.

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

Systems and processes were followed to help ensure people received safe care and protection from unavoidable harm and the risks of abuse. Risks, including those from medicines and infection, were identified and actions were in place to help manage these and promote people’s safety. Systems were in place to ensure any lessons learnt were identified when accidents or incidents occurred. There were enough staff to provide care to people. Recruitment processes had been followed to help check that staff were suitable to work at the service.

Assessments were completed so people’s health and care needs and their preferences were clearly identified. People’s equality and diversity needs were considered and understood. Staff were supported to have the skills, knowledge and experience to help provide people with effective care. Care plans and risk assessments were in place where people received care with their nutrition and hydration. People were supported to access the healthcare services they needed in order to live healthier lives.

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 supported by polite and friendly staff. People and when appropriate, their relatives, were involved in their care decisions. Staff took actions to promote people’s privacy, dignity and independence.

People received responsive and personalised care from staff that knew their preferences, communication needs and understood what was important to people. People’s needs were kept under review and care was changed to meet any new needs. People’s goals and outcomes were known and worked towards. Processes were in place to respond to any complaints or issues raised. Where people required care at the end of their lives this was provided and planned with people.

There was a positive person-centred culture at the service. People’s views and feedback were actively encouraged and used to see how improvements could be made. Audits and checks were completed to help ensure the quality and safety of services and support continuous learning. Positive working relationships were in place with other professionals and services involved in people’s care.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

We registered this service on 19 March 2021 and this was 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.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.