16 June 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Sagecare (Wigan) is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to 271 older people and children living in their own homes in the Standish area of Wigan. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects services where people receive personal care. They receive help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating; we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Since the previous inspection, improvements had been made to recruitment systems and the staff files now included all required documentation. There were still some issues with staffing levels at weekends, but the service managed to cover the calls and was continuing to recruit more staff to address this. The registered manager had implemented regular one to one supervisions and staff were now having these on a regular basis. Training and development needs were identified and all required training had been completed by staff and refreshers were on-going.
The service had systems in place to help safeguard people from abuse and staff had completed appropriate training. People told us they felt safe with the care staff who visited. Individual risks were thoroughly assessed and managed by the service. Medicines were managed safely. Staff were aware of the processes to prevent and control the spread of infection. All staff were following the guidelines in place due to COVID-19.
People’s care needs were thoroughly assessed and their care plans included relevant health and personal information. People’s individual needs, preferences and choices were taken on board. The service supported people to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet and worked with other agencies to ensure good, joined up care.
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.
The management team demonstrated an understanding of quality assurance and regulatory requirements. The service engaged with people via telephone reviews and quality monitoring.
The service took learning and improvement from the results of audits, which were undertaken regularly. Complaints were dealt with in a timely and appropriate way and the service had received a number of compliments.
Staff felt the management team were supportive and communication was effective. Observations of staff practice were now being completed regularly. Staff spoke positively about their roles and felt morale had improved due to the new management structure.
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 4 March 2020) and there were two breaches of regulation.
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 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, Effective 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 Sagecare (Wigan) 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.