Archived: Sevacare - Wednesbury

Updated 22 June 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 25 April 2016 and the registered manager was given 48 hours’ notice, because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that staff would be available. The inspection was carried out by one Inspector.

Before the inspection we requested that the provider sent us a completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give us key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us. Notifications are details that the provider is required to send to us to inform us about incidents that have happened at the service, such as accidents or a serious injury. We liaised with the Local Authority Commissioning team to identify areas we may wish to focus upon in the planning of this inspection.

We spoke with ten people who used the service, four relatives, seven care staff members and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and how the service was managed. This included looking closely at the care provided to ten people by reviewing their care records. We reviewed four staff recruitment and/or disciplinary records, the staff training matrix, five medication records and a variety of quality assurance audits.

Updated 22 June 2016

Sevacare (Wednesbury) is registered to provide personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 300 people were receiving support, with 275 of them accessing personal care. Our inspection was announced and it took place on 25 April 2016. At the last inspection on 08 September 2014 the service met all of the standards.

The manager was registered with us as is required by law. 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 were kept safe from harm. Staff we spoke with were clear about how they could access and utilise the provider’s whistle blowing policy and that they knew how to keep people safe. People received their medicines appropriately, as and when they should, and staff were suitably trained to administer them. People were supported to take food and drinks in sufficient quantities to prevent malnutrition and dehydration. People were supported to ensure their health needs were met.

There was a suitable amount of staff on duty with the skills, experience and training in order to meet people’s needs. They obtained consent where possible and explained their actions to people. Staff maintained people’s privacy and dignity whilst encouraging them to remain as independent as possible. People and their relatives were involved in the planning of care and staff delivered care in line with what was considered to be people’s preferences and wishes.

The complaints procedure had been given to people and they understood it. People were confident that their concerns would be listened to and acted upon. People were asked for feedback and their replies helped to shape the way that care was provided. People, their relatives and staff spoke positively about the approachable nature and leadership skills of the registered manager. Structures for supervision allowing staff to understand their roles and responsibilities were in place.

Systems for updating and reviewing risk assessments and care plans to reflect people’s level of support needs and any potential related risks were effective. Quality assurance audits were undertaken regularly. The registered manager had also ensured that checks on staff were undertaken periodically. We received notifications regarding incidents and accidents, so that we could see how staff responded to people’s needs, and the action taken to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.