Background to this inspection
Updated
2 April 2020
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.
This inspection was carried out 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ 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.
The location office site visit took place on 24 February 2020, and visits to people's homes, took place on 20 February 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection-
We spoke with three people and their relatives who used the service. We spoke with the registered manager, and two care staff. We visited three people's homes. We reviewed the care records and medication records for five people who used the service. We reviewed records of accidents, incidents, compliments and complaints, staff recruitment, training and support as well as audits and quality assurance reports.
After the inspection –
We contacted one professional who regularly work with the service and telephoned two relatives.
Updated
2 April 2020
Silverstars Care is a domiciliary care service covering Sherborne and Wincanton areas. They provide personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 20 people who required support with personal care. This figure can change daily as people's needs change and new clients are accepted.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives told us the service was well led. Since our last inspection additional senior staff had been appointed and new quality systems had been implemented to monitor and improve the service for people.
No one using the service was being deprived of their liberty under the Court of Protection. Mental capacity assessments were carried out to determine whether the person had capacity to make decisions related to their care. However, the service had not always assessed people’s mental capacity in a way that met legal requirements. Following the inspection the provider reviewed all assessments relating to capacity.
We have made a recommendation in regard additional training in regards assessing capacity.
People and relatives said the service was safe. Formal and informal methods were in place to share information around risk. Arrangement were in place to monitor and record risks. However, the risk assessments were not always reflective of the person’s risk and information about people’s risks were not always comprehensive.
We have made a recommendation about the review and recording of risks.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. Feedback about the caring
approach of staff was positive. People who used the service, and their relatives, described a service they could rely on. They confirmed visits were not missed and staff arrived when expected. They said they felt safe with the staff. There were sufficient staff employed to ensure all planned visits were undertaken.
People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff had received training in medicines administration and had their competency assessed to ensure the safe administration of medicines.
Staff received supervision and competency observations to help ensure they had the knowledge to
perform their roles effectively. Staff and people told us senior staff and the registered manager completed spot checks where they observed staff supporting people.
The service had an effective out of hours system in place over 24hours. A contingency plan was in place to ensure the service kept running through adverse weather conditions or during staff sickness.
People said the service was well managed. There were effective systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. Regular feedback about the quality of the service people received had been sought. The management team continually looked for ways to improve the service. People were encouraged to raise any concerns they had or make suggestions to improve the service they received.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Rating at last inspection:
At the last inspection the service was rated Requires Improvement. (published 08 March 2019). We identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to safe care and treatment and good governance.
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.
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.