Archived: Synergy Homecare - Wakefield

Updated 7 April 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an 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 homes. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection 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 26 February 2020 and ended on 13 March 2020. We visited the office location on 3 March 2020.

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 commissioning and safeguarding teams. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, care manager and two support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. We also spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service and nine relatives.

After the inspection

We spoke on the telephone with a further six support workers. We also requested further information from the registered manager to validate the evidence found. This was received, and the information was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 7 April 2020

About the service

Synergy Homecare – Wakefield is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 78 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 protect people from the risk of abuse or harm. Risk assessments were in place and were reviewed and updated as required. The recruitment of staff was thorough. Some people told us their call times were irregular and they did not always know which staff would be attending their call. People received their medicines from appropriately trained staff.

Feedback about the management of the service was mixed but people did feel improvement were being made by the new registered manager and care manager. There were systems in place to monitor and review the quality of the service, but improvements were needed to ensure they were robust .

Staff received regular training, supervision and observations of their performance. Where people were assessed as requiring support to eat and drink, this was provided. People were enabled to access other health care professionals as required. 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 were kind and caring. People were encouraged to retain their independence and make choices about their care. Staff respected people’s right to privacy and ensured they took steps to maintain their dignity.

People’s care records were person centred and provided staff with sufficient detail to enable them to provide individualised care and support. The registered manager was aware of the requirements of the Accessible Information Standard. Formal complaints were logged and investigated.

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 5 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.