SNE Care Services Ltd

Updated 27 April 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.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 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 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 48 hours’ 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.

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, Healthwatch, and professionals who work with the service. 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 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and the general manager. We spoke with 4 people who use the service and 8 relatives.

We reviewed a range of records including 3 people’s care and medicines records. We looked at the recruitment records for 3 members of staff. We also looked at records relating to the safety and management of the service. We also reviewed records the registered manager had sent us electronically.

After the inspection

We received feedback from 4 health and social care professionals who work with the service and 7 members of staff. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence we found.

Updated 27 April 2023

About the service

SNE Care Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. 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 89 people were receiving personal care from the service.

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

Following the previous inspection in March 2022 the provider sent us an action plan to make the necessary improvements to the service. Improvements had been made and the service was no longer in breach of regulations.

People and their relatives spoke positively about the care and support provided by the service. Some people raised that they did not always receive care from the same members of care staff. We discussed this with the registered manager who explained they had recently recruited new staff which would mean consistent staff would be allocated to people.

Improvements had been made to the management and administration of medicines. Regular audits were undertaken to ensure any issues identified could be addressed immediately.

Safe recruitment practices were in place. Appropriate background checks were in place to enable staff to work in this country.

Risk to people’s safety had been assessed and plans were in place to guide staff on how to support people safely. There were processes in place for reviewing and investigating accidents, incidents and safeguarding to ensure lessons were learned and these were shared with staff.

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.

Systems were in place to manage and monitor infection control. Appropriate PPE was available to staff.

Quality monitoring and assurance systems were in place to ensure the registered manager had oversight of the service. Regular audits were undertaken, and actions followed up.

Complaints were taken seriously and used as an opportunity to improve the service and experience for people. Surveys were undertaken and feedback summarised to identify any actions needed.

The service had a positive culture. The registered manager had a good understanding of equality and diversity and was active with putting this into practice. The service worked in partnership with others to ensure people’s needs were met.

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 16 May 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 22 March 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Regulation 17 HSCA RA Regulations 2014 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 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 SNE Care Services Ltd 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.