SQ Carers Ltd

Updated 31 July 2021

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

This inspection was completed by one inspector and one Expert by Experience. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people and their relatives to obtain feedback about their experience of the care provided. 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.

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 the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 24 June 2021 and ended on 1 July 2021. We visited the office location on 24 June 2021.

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 and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six members of staff including the provider (who was also the registered manager), deputy manager, field supervisor and care staff, two people who used the service and eleven relatives about their experience of the care provided.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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 reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We had feedback from two professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 31 July 2021

About the service

SQ Carers is a domiciliary care agency. People had individual packages of care in their own homes. At the time of this inspection SQ Carers supported 23 people with personal care. 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

People and their relatives told us people received care and support that was safe and staff treated people well. People had care plans and risk assessments that reflected their health and welfare needs. Care staff had knowledge of safeguarding and whistle blowing procedures to ensure people’s ongoing safety. The provider carried out checks before new staff started to ensure only suitable staff were employed. People received their medicines in line with their prescribed instructions. The provider had a system in place to manage accidents and incidents to maintain people’s safety.

People and relatives told us they were treated with dignity and respect and people’s choices and preferences were reflected in the care provided. People knew how to make a complaint. Arrangements were in place to support people’s end of life care when needed.

There were systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service and these had resulted in improvements to the care and support people received. There was a clear management structure, and staff were aware of the roles of the management team.

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 requires improvement (published 25 June 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve staffing and recruitment and their governance systems. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 25 June 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Fit and proper persons employed and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to 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 SQ Carers Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.