13 September 2016
During a routine inspection
Comfort Call Sunnyfield provided domiciliary care services to older people, who maybe living with dementia, physical disability or visual impairment. This care was provided to people living in an extra care facility (extra care allows people to continue living independently, while offering onsite care and support if required over a 24 hour period). The building was managed by Housing 21 and care provided by Comfort Call Sunnyfield both based at the service. There were 71 people who were currently residing at Comfort Call Sunnyfield. Only 34 people were receiving personal care.
This was the first inspection since the service registered on 26 February 2015.
There was someone currently carrying out the manager role in the registered manager’s absence. However following the inspection visit the registered manager cancelled their registration during October 2016. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People using the service and relatives told us they felt safe. Care workers we spoke with understood their responsibility in protecting people from the risk of harm and told us they had undertaken a range of training, to support them in their role. People told us that care workers treated them in a caring way and respected their privacy and supported them to maintain their dignity.
However, we found that the leadership and management of the service and its governance systems were not robust. Systems to monitor and review the quality of some areas of the service people received, were not in place and therefore we found a number of areas that required improvement.
People's health and wellbeing was not always maintained. For example, care workers were not always aware of people’s health conditions and the treatment to support them. People who were supported with their medicines were not always protected against the risks associated with poor medicines management. People did not receive personalised care which met their individual needs. Care plans had not been updated to reflect the changes in people’s needs and risk assessments did not provide care workers with detailed guidance on how to mitigate risk.
The provider did not have effective procedures for care workers to follow in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Care staff were not clear about people’s individual capacity to make decisions.
Care workers told us they did not feel supported due to the lack of consistency in the management at the service. Complaints were not well managed. People felt issues were not resolved satisfactorily. A relative told us they had made a complaint however they had not received an outcome.
People felt there were not enough care workers on duty or on the premises during the night to ensure their safety. Recruitment procedures were not thorough. Staff recruitment records showed that a full employment history was not always in place.
We found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.