Background to this inspection
Updated
14 June 2019
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team: This inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.
Service and service type: Smartcare Epsom is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes in Surrey. At the time of the inspection 46 people were receiving personal care regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager and other senior staff would be available to speak with us. We also needed to ensure that people’s consent was gained for us to contact them for feedback about the service.
We visited the service on the 7 May 2019 and looked at records relating to the management of the service such as incident and accident records, meeting minutes, training records, policies, audits and complaints.
During the inspection we spoke with 12 people who received personal care from the service and we visited three people in their own homes. We also spoke with nine members of staff. This included a director, the registered manager and care staff. We reviewed a sample of people’s care and support records. After the inspection we contacted healthcare professionals who had a contract with the service to obtain their views of the service provided and received three responses.
What we did: The provider had completed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications.
Updated
14 June 2019
About the service: Smartcare Epsom is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes in Surrey. At the time of the inspection 46 people were receiving personal care regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
People’s experience of using this service: The service had systems to ensure risks were managed and people were kept safe. People received effective care from a well-supported and trained staff team. We received positive feedback about how safe people felt with staff.
People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs and preferences. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.
Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s abilities and promoting independence. Staff had built positive caring relationships with people and their families. Through conversation, it was evident the staff employed at the service aimed to achieve the best possible outcomes for people.
Care plans were person-centred and evidenced the level of support people required according to their assessed needs and preferences. People supported by the service told us they were treated with respect by caring staff. Feedback from people, their relatives and healthcare professionals was positive.
Staff spoke positively about their employment and told us this had a positive effect on the people they supported. The provider and registered manager were focussed on continuous improvement.
Staff felt listened to and had opportunities to raise suggestions and be involved in the development of the service. The service worked in partnership with other organisations and healthcare professionals to ensure they followed best practice and people received care that met their needs.
The registered manager and management team used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included staff meetings, auditing of the service and surveys to seek people’s views.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: Good. The last inspection report was published 26 November 2016.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains Good.
Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our inspection schedule for those services rated Good.