Sarah's Home Care Ltd

Updated 4 October 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

This inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

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, who was also the registered provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice for 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 14 August 2023 and ended on 17 September 2023. We visited the location’s office on 14 august 2023 but were unable to gain access. We therefore visited again on 24 August 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 1 person who used the service, 2 relatives and 5 staff including the registered manager, who is also the provider, the assistant manager, the senior care worker and 2 care staff. We looked at the care documentation for 3 people and records relating to the management of the service including policies, staff recruitment and training records and systems used to monitor the quality of the service.

Updated 4 October 2023

About the service

Sarah’s Home Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older adults living in their own homes. 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. At the time of our inspection 3 people who used the service were receiving personal care.

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

People and their relatives told us they felt safe, and their experiences of the service provided by Sarah’s Home Care were positive.

People were protected from harm by staff who had been trained and were confident in recognising and reporting concerns. Potential risks to people were assessed and guidance was in place to minimise them.

There were enough staff to ensure people’s needs were met safely and in an unrushed manner. Staff had been trained and had the right skills to meet people's needs effectively, including in relation to the administration of medicines. They were supported well by the management team and had sufficient information to carry out their duties well.

Where required, staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink. They supported people to access healthcare professionals when needed, to help maintain their health and well-being.

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.

People and their relatives, where appropriate, were fully involved in making decisions about their care, in planning and reviewing care plans. People told us they were supported by a consistent and familiar group of staff who were kind and compassionate. Staff respected and promoted people’s privacy, dignity and independence. They knew people well and had enough time to speak with them and learn about them as individuals. This, along with information in people's care plans, supported staff to deliver person-centred care that met their needs.

There was a system to ensure any complaints were recorded, investigated, and acted upon to reduce the risk of similar issues happening in the future. People and relatives confirmed communication was good and felt their views about their care were sought and acted on appropriately. Audits and quality monitoring checks were carried out regularly to continually improve the service.

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 31 May 2018). Based on the findings at this inspection the overall rating remains good.

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.