Archived: Smeaton Healthcare (Plymouth)

Smeaton Healthcare (Plymouth) is a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 20 people were receiving personal care from the service.

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 were kept safe from abuse and harm, by staff who knew how to report any concerns. The service had systems to report and investigate any concerns and had established links with the local authority safeguarding team.

Risk assessments identified how the risks associated with peoples care should be managed, and the action staff should take to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm. Staff understood the risks to people and delivered care in accordance with people's support plans. There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. Robust recruitment processes were in place to ensure only suitable staff were selected to work with people.

Staff had received training to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. We saw that supervision meetings for staff were held regularly and staff felt supported by the management team to perform their role.

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 felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity were always respected. People's choices were respected, and staff were committed to supporting people to achieve good outcomes.

The registered manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to deliver person-centred care. People's care plans were personalised and focused on what was important to people. Care plans were regularly reviewed, and people and their relatives were involved in the reviews.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The registered manager was committed to ensuring continuous learning was embedded within the service. The service worked in partnership with other health and social care organisations to achieve better outcomes for people using 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

This service was registered with us on 27 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.