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Sygmacare

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

302 Nacton Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9JH (01473) 719999

Provided and run by:
Sygmacare

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 13 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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an Expert By Experience, who carried out telephone interviews to people and their relatives to gather their feedback of the service. 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.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. At the time of this inspection there were 2 registered managers in post. The registered managers were also the provider’s nominated individual, this meant they were legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service where the registered managers also provided care calls and we needed to be sure that they would be available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 27 March 2023 when we visited the office. Telephone calls were made offsite to people who used the service and their relatives. Inspection activity ended when we had a face to face meeting via video call with one of the registered managers on 4 April 2023 to give feedback.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed our systems and information we held about the service. 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of Sygmacare.

We spoke with one of the registered managers and the office manager. We received feedback from 2 members of staff and the local authority commissioning team.

We reviewed a range of records which included 2 staff recruitment records and care records including risk assessments and where applicable medicine records for 3 people. We also viewed some of the provider’s policies and procedures, training data, quality assurance records, management monitoring and oversight records.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 13 April 2023

Sygmacare is a small domiciliary care service providing care to 21 people in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

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

People and relatives were complimentary about their experience with Sygmacare and would recommend using the service. One person shared, “I know them all, and I look forward to them coming. We have a laugh and a chat as they work. A relative said, “The carers treat [family member] like I would myself. I’m very happy with them.”

The management team and staff worked with people, relatives, and other professionals to achieve person-centred care and good outcomes for people.

Risks to people had been assessed and were managed safely. People were supported by a staff team who were safely recruited and knew how to protect them from potential harm.

Staff felt supported and valued in their role by the management team and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People received their care visits at the times they expected, for the length of time agreed, and from staff they knew.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff adhered to infection prevention and control procedures in line with legislative requirements and recognised best practice guidelines.

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people and ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected. 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 relatives described being able to raise any issues with the staff and management team and were confident these would be addressed.

Whilst the registered managers delivered care and maintained an overview of activities, we have made a recommendation they review and strengthen their systems for monitoring the quality and safety of the service to ensure they are robust.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 January 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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