Background to this inspection
Updated
12 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 carried out by one 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 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 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 15 March 2022 and ended on 21 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 21 March 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the information we held about the service including information submitted to CQC by the provider about serious injuries or events. 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.
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 sought feedback from the local authority contracts monitoring and safeguarding adults’ teams and reviewed the information they provided. We contacted the local Healthwatch for their feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We received feedback from four members of care staff. We spoke with the deputy manager and regional manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and medicines records for four people. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Updated
12 May 2022
About the service
Springfield Healthcare (Newcastle) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care from staff. 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 inspection 45 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives were positive about the care provided by staff. People told us they had a friendly staff team supporting them and they felt safe.
Most people told us they had a regular staff team supporting them and, at times, new care staff joined the team after completing shadowing sessions. The management team reviewed staffing requirements regularly.
Staff were caring when talking about the people they supported and their comments included, “I enjoy seeing them smile” and “I absolutely love the team I work with and the clients.”
Risks to people were fully identified and mitigated. Medicines were safely managed, and the service worked in partnership with other health care professionals to make sure people received a continuous level of support. People had person-centred care plans which were created from comprehensive assessments of people's needs.
Staff had a positive relationship with the manager and felt able to provide feedback regularly about the service. The quality assurance systems in place allowed for effective monitoring of the service by the manager and provider.
Staff had access to PPE and followed best practice guidance and the provider's policy in relation to infection prevention and control. Staff had received additional training and support during the pandemic to make sure they were confident and capable to deliver care.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 21 May 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident. Following which a person using the service died.
The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about the management of risks relating to wheelchair usage and assessment. This inspection examined those risks.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.
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 has not changed and remains good, based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Springfield Healthcare (Newcastle) 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.