Background to this inspection
Updated
2 July 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. 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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector 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 care service. Their area of expertise was in the care of older people.
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
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.
Inspection activity started on 30 May 2019, when we visited the service’s office to see the registered manager; and to review records, and policies and procedures. This ended on 03 June 2019 when we had spoken with more staff by telephone.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included the report of the last inspection, information shared with us by the local authority and that sent to us by the provider. We used the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with key information about the service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We reviewed a range of records. This included care and medicines records for three people. We looked at records of accidents and incidents; compliments and complaints; audits; surveys. We also looked at two staff files to check the provider's staff recruitment, training and supervision processes.
During the visit to the office, we spoke with two staff, the coordinator and the registered manager. We spoke with three more staff by telephone, 10 people using the service and six relatives.
Updated
2 July 2019
About the service:
Blue Sapphire Care Limited is a domiciliary care service. It provides care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, 35 people were being supported with personal care.
Not everyone using Blue Sapphire Care Limited receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service:
Everyone said the service was well run. However, the provider needed to improve their quality monitoring processes to ensure quality checks were carried out in a timely way. More formal support for staff also needed to be provided regularly, and information from surveys used effectively to improve the service. There was evidence of effective engagement with people, relatives, staff and other agencies involved in people’s care.
Everyone told us the service provided very good care and support to people and their relatives. We had positive feedback about the caring nature of the staff and the registered manager, their skills, and flexibility when required to meet people’s needs. The registered manager planned people’s care in a way that ensured this was provided in a person-centred and responsive way.
People were protected from harm by staff who were confident in recognising and reporting concerns. People were safe because potential risks to their health and wellbeing had been managed well. There were enough staff to support people safely. People were supported well to take their medicines. Lessons were learnt from incidents to prevent recurrence. Staff followed effective processes to prevent the spread of infections.
Staff had the right skills to meet people's needs effectively. Staff had the information they required to meet people’s assessed needs. People had been supported to have enough to eat and drink. People had access to healthcare services when required. This helped people to maintain their health and well-being.
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 fully involved in making decisions about their care and support. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care plans. Staff supported people in a way that respected and promoted their privacy and dignity. They encouraged people to be as independent as possible.
People were happy with how staff supported them to meet their individual needs. They said this had been done in a compassionate way. Complaints were managed well and there was learning from these to reduce the risk of recurrence. The service did not always provide end of life care and people's care wishes were not included in their care plans. The registered manager said they would do more to include this information in everyone’s care plans.
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was Good (published 24 September 2016).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.