Sylviancare Bournemouth and Poole

Updated 17 August 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 July 2023 and ended on 20 July 2023. We visited the location’s services on 18 July 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and 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 3 people, 5 relatives and 1 Health and Social Care Professional, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 members of staff including the registered manager, nominated individual, office administrator, quality assurance officer, and 4 care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care and support records and 3 people’s medicine administration records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment, and training. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management and monitoring of the service. These included staffing rotas, staff spot check observation records, accident and incident records and a range of the providers quality assurance records, policies, and procedures.

Updated 17 August 2023

About the service

Sylviancare Bournemouth & Poole is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. At the time of this inspection 30 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service. 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

Improvements had been made by the provider to the governance of the service. Systems and processes had been improved to ensure the provider had effective governance and oversight of the service. The provider had implemented a range of systems and processes to ensure there was effective governance and oversight of the service. They had also implemented a dedicated quality assurance post within the head office team. This new role enabled a range of effective audits to be completed that provided a basis for continual improvement and learning within the whole staff team.

At our last inspection we recommended improvements to risk assessments and medicine management, we found the provider had acted upon the recommendations. People had pre -assessments and risk assessments completed for them. These were then used to develop person centred care plans which guided staff on how to care for people safely. Care plans were detailed and regularly updated to ensure people received effective care and support.

Improvements had been made to the management of medicines and the provider was following the safe good practice guidelines. Medicines were managed and administered safely, including medicines taken as and when required and prescribed creams. People were supported to take their medicines by staff who had received training to administer medicines.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People felt safe with staff, who had the appropriate training and skills to provide care safely and effectively.

Robust recruitment practices were followed. Appropriate checks were completed to ensure only suitable staff were employed. There was an ongoing process of staff recruitment to ensure people were supported safely and effectively. Staff received an induction and were well supported through a programme of regular supervision, spot checks and training.

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.

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the support they received from Sylviancare Bournemouth & Poole. A relative told us, “They absolutely provide the support as needed. They are very experienced and confident. They know what they are doing, and they do it well.” Staff knew people well and understood how they preferred their care and support to be delivered.

People felt the service was well led, friendly, and professional. Staff felt very well supported in their roles and spoke positively of the supportive and open approach taken by the management team.

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 23 March 2022).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider had made the required improvements and was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 3 and 4 March 2022. A breach of regulation in relation to the management of the service and governance systems was found. The provider completed an action plan after that inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the service 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, and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 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 Sylviancare Bournemouth and Poole 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.