SureCare Newcastle and North Tyneside Also known as SURECARE NEWCASTLE LIMITED

Updated 17 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. 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 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.

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 15 April 2019 and ended on 9 May 2019. We visited the office location on both dates.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received from the provider since they had registered, such as details of any accidents or incidents which had occurred.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch about the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We contacted three people who used the service and four relatives to find out about their experience of the service. We spoke with the registered manger and six care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. These included four people's care records and medicines records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

After the inspection

We asked the provider to send us some additional information so we could validate the evidence we found.

Updated 17 July 2019

About the service

SureCare Newcastle and North Tyneside is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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. There were 30 receiving personal care at the time of the inspection.

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

SureCare Newcastle and North Tyneside provided a reliable service. People were supported by a small team of consistent staff. People told us staff were caring and respectful. Staff were punctual and had always attended planned visits.

People’s needs were assessed and care was planned to meet their preferences and choices. Staff were given very detailed information to support people. People received their medicines as prescribed. They were supported to eat and drink things they enjoyed and to access healthcare services when they needed to.

Staff were trained and competent. Their skills and understanding were regularly checked to make sure they could carry out their role. They understood their responsibilities in mitigating risks and keeping people safe. Safe recruitment procedures had been followed.

The registered manager was well respected by people, relatives, and staff. They had put in place processes and systems to make sure the service provided good quality care. They kept up to date with best practice, and trialled new ways of working to continually improve.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Records related to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were not always clear, however the registered manager addressed this during our inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 April 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.