Synchronised Care Ltd (Halifax)

Updated 13 March 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This announced inspection took place between 31 January and 8 February 2019. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

During this period, we visited the office premises and spoke with three people who used the service and/or their relatives and one care worker. We announced the inspection 48 hours prior to the first day of inspection to make sure the manager would be available.

During the visit to the office premises we spoke with the manager, looked at three people’s care records, medicines administration records (MAR) and other records which related to the management of the service. We also looked at training records, two staff recruitment records and various policies and procedures.

As part of the inspection process we looked at information we already had about the provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any incidences which put people at risk of harm. We refer to these as notifications. We reviewed the notifications that the provider had sent us and any other information we had about the service, to plan the areas we wanted to focus on during our inspection.

We also ask providers to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. Our review of this information prior to our inspection enabled us to ensure that we were aware of any areas of good practice or potential areas of concern.

Updated 13 March 2019

Synchronised Care Limited is registered as a domiciliary care agency. The agency is based in Bradford and provides a range of services including personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of inspection the agency was providing personal care and support to four people.

We inspected Synchronised Care Limited between 31 January and 8 February 2019. During this period we visited the office premises and spoke with people who used the service and a care worker. We announced the inspection 48 hours prior to the start of the inspection to make sure the manager would be available. This was the first inspection of the service since registration in January 2018.

At the time of inspection there was no registered manager in post as they had left the service 21 January 2019. However, one of the company directors had taken on the role and confirmed they would be applying for registration with the Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We found care workers received training to protect people from harm and the manager was knowledgeable about reporting any suspected harm. The care worker we spoke with told us the training provided by the agency was very good and they received the training and support required to carry out their roles effectively.

Where risks to people’s health, safety and welfare had been identified appropriate risk assessments were in place which showed what action had been taken to mitigate the risk.

The service had an infection control policy which gave staff guidance on preventing, detecting and controlling the spread of infection. Care workers had received training on infection prevention and control.

The feedback we received from people who used the service or their relatives about the standard of care provided was consistently good and people told us care workers were reliable and conscientious.

The support plans we looked at were person centred and were reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they provided accurate and up to date information. People told us they had been consulted about the level of care and support they required and felt fully involved in the assessment process.

If people required care workers to assist or support them to prepare food and drink information was present within their support plan and people were encouraged to eat a healthy diet.

Medicines were managed safely and care workers received appropriate training.

There were enough care workers employed for operational purposes and the recruitment process ensured only people suitable to work in the caring profession were employed.

The manager demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and was aware of the process to follow should a person lack the capacity to consent to their care and support.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received. People told us they felt able to raise any concerns with the manager and felt these would be listened to and responded to effectively and in a timely manner.

There was a quality assurance monitoring system in place that was designed to continually monitor and identify shortfalls in service provision. People who used the service spoke positively about the manager and we found there was an open and transparent culture within the service.