Updated 29 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.
Inspection team
Inspection team: This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience.
Service and service type
Sage Care Limited is a care service providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. This may include adults and older people living with dementia, a sensory impairment, a physical disability or mental ill health. Not everyone using the service received regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service received by people provided with ‘personal care;’ help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account the wider social care provided.
There was a registered manager for the service. Like the registered provider, the registered manager is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of this inspection the registered manager was absent with leave.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours notice of the initial inspection site visit. This was because we needed to be sure either the registered manager or a senior manager would be in the in the office to support the inspection and care staff were available to speak with us. This also gave the provider time to obtain people’s consent, for us to speak with them or their relative about their care experience.
What we did
We looked at information we held about the service, to help us plan the inspection. This included checking written notifications the provider had sent to us about any important events when they happened at the service. On this occasion we did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. This is information we may ask the provider to send us, usually at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. However, during the inspection we gave the manager opportunity to give us any relevant updates from this.
The inspection site visit activity started on 26 February and ended on 4 March 2020. We used a range of methods to help us understand people’s care experience. We visited the office location on 26 February and 4 March 2020 and made telephone calls to people, relatives and staff on 27 February 2020. During the course of the inspection we spoke with eight people who received care from the service and three people’s relatives. We also spoke with a deputy manager, a senior manager for the provider, a care supervisor, a care-co-ordinator and six care staff.
We looked at six people’s care plans to check whether they were accurately maintained and a range of other records relating to the management of the service. This included, staffing, medicines, communication and complaints records; and records relating to the provider’s governance and oversight of the service for the quality and safety of people’s care.
Following the inspection
We asked the registered manager to send us additional information to help us validate the evidence we found at the inspection. This related to areas of staff training, care policy, quality assurance and risk management.