Sante Care At Home

Updated 12 December 2019

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.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken 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.

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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 4 days’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about this service including notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events and incidents involving people. The provider was not 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 to the registered manager and the director. We reviewed a range of records. This included the care records of two people using the service, medicines administration record (MAR) for two people using the service, two staff files and other records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke to two people’s relatives and asked them to give us feedback about their experiences of the service.

Updated 12 December 2019

About the service

Sante Care At Home is a domiciliary care agency that specialises in providing live in care services. Live in care is where staff live and work with people, in people’s homes, providing personal care and support as required. 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 our inspection there were eight people using the service.

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

People were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. They received the care and support that had been planned and agreed with them. People’s choices for how this was provided were respected and staff delivered this in line with their wishes.

Staff were kind and caring. They supported people in a dignified, respectful way which maintained their privacy and independence. People had a choice about who they received care and support from. The provider made sure this was from the same staff so that this was provided in a consistent way. People were helped follow their interests and to take part in activities that were relevant to them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were safe using this service. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse or harm. They were given the information they needed to help reduce risks to people's safety and wellbeing. Staff followed current practice when providing personal care and when preparing and handling food which reduced hygiene risks

The provider made sure there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. They also made sure staff were suitable and fit to support people through their recruitment checks. Staff received relevant training to help them meet people’s needs. The provider regularly assessed their competency to make sure they were carrying out their duties appropriately and to a high standard. The provider made sure staff had regular opportunities to review and improve their working practices to help them provide effective support to people.

Staff helped people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and to take their prescribed medicines. Records maintained by staff helped keep others involved in people’s care well informed about their health and wellbeing. Staff understood people’s healthcare needs and how they should be supported with these in a timely and appropriate way.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and review the quality of service that people experienced. They checked with people at regular intervals that the care and support provided was meeting their needs and sought their views about how the service could improve. There were arrangements in place to make sure any accidents, incidents and complaints would be fully investigated and people would be involved and informed of the outcome. The provider worked with others to develop and improve the care and support provided to people.

The provider was continually looking at ways to improve the quality and safety of the service for people. A new electronic records system had been implemented at the service since our last inspection to help staff deliver more responsive and timely care to people. The provider was also able to more effectively monitor that people were getting the right care and support at the right time. Further improvements were planned. The provider was making more information about the service available in a variety of formats to help make these easier for people and staff to read and understand.

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 27 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was planned based on the previous rating of ‘Good’.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned in line with our inspection schedule or in response to concerns.