Synergy Complex Care Ltd

Updated 2 October 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

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. Some people’s care was overseen by a nurse in respect of the assessment and the planning of care due to their complex health needs.

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 a short 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.

Inspection activity started on 13 August 2021 and ended on 14 September 2021. We visited the office location on 14 September 2021.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with us. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided, this was because people using the service were unable to tell us about their experience. We emailed two people and a further two relatives, but they choose not to respond. Email was their preferred means of communication.

We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, the office administrator and four care staff. We sought feedback from four health and social care professionals about their experience of working with Synergy Complex Care Ltd.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 2 October 2021

Synergy Complex Care is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to children and adults with complex care needs living in their own homes. They are registered to provide personal care and the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder and injury. Nurses were employed to assess, plan and monitor the care to people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care or the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating and where a nursing need has been identified. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 11 people, only five were receiving a regulated activity.

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

Relatives spoke positively about care and support they received from Synergy Complex Care Limited. Care was person centred and people were asked and involved in how they wanted to be supported. Staff knew people well and ensured their care needs were met.

People were supported by consistent and familiar care staff. There was a good matching process completed as part of the initial assessment to ensure people were matched with the right staff. Staff received a comprehensive induction and ongoing training to enable them to support people safely.

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.

Staff knew how to keep people safe and free from avoidable harm. Risk assessments were in place. Staff knew what to report to the office to ensure people were safe. Policies and procedures were in place to guide staff on keeping people safe and the reporting of allegations of abuse.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of supporting people safely during the current pandemic. Staff felt supported and valued in their roles.

There had been sufficient personal protective equipment, staff training and regular updates throughout the pandemic. Regular COVID-19 testing was in place for all staff weekly and results were passed to the management team.

Relatives and staff spoke positively about how the service was managed. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service. The service had been operating since July 2020 and the provider was in the process of seeking the views of people using the service, relatives, health and social care professionals and the staff through a formal survey.

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 04/08/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide the service with a rating.

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.