Sally and Sarah

Updated 26 August 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

An inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out this inspection. 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 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 3 July 2023 and ended on 12 July 2023. We visited the service on 3 July 2023 and spoke with people and relatives on 6 July 2023.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 spoke with 3 people who used the service and 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the operations manager and the registered manager who is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also received feedback from 3 care staff about their experience of working at the service. We reviewed a range of documents relating to the safety and management of the service.

Updated 26 August 2023

About the service

Sally and Sarah is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of our inspection 11 people were using the service.

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

People and relatives were happy with the care and support provided. One relative said, “I selected them because they are a small and caring company. The benefit is that we see the same carers. Even when they are off, we have always managed, and they have never let us down.”

People were supported by a regular team of staff. Staff were recruited safely. The registered manager ensured staff had the appropriate skills and experience to support people safely.

The provider had systems in place to ensure people were protected from abuse and harm. Staff had completed safeguarding training. Individual and environmental risks were identified and mitigated against. Systems were in place to ensure people would continue to receive support in the event of an emergency.

Medicines were managed safely. People’s medicine support needs were assessed, enabling people to remain independent.

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

The registered manager constantly reflected on the care and support provided. Information was reviewed with lessons learnt cascaded to staff.

An effective quality assurance process to monitor the quality and safety of the service was in place. The provider had an ethos to ensure people received the best care possible. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to offer feedback.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 24 October 2018).

Why we inspected

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

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sally and Sarah 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.