Background to this inspection
Updated
16 August 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
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.
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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information we held about the service to plan the inspection. This included checking for any statutory notifications that the provider had sent to us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used this information to plan our inspection. We also used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information Return (PIR) to formulate our inspection plan. A PIR is key information we require from providers on an annual basis giving us key information about the service.
During the inspection
During the inspection we spoke with 11 people who used the service and five relatives. We also spoke with the provider, the registered manager and six support staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicine administration records. We also looked at quality assurance records, as well as three staff recruitment and training records. In addition, spoke with a social care professional who worked regularly with the agency.
Updated
16 August 2019
About the service
Sentinel Care Limited is a domiciliary care service providing support to 104 older people in their own homes, some of whom have being diagnosed with dementia care needs. 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. At the time of inspection, 80 people were receiving a regulated service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received safe and effective care and support. Risks were assessed and managed to reduce the likelihood of avoidable harm and changes in circumstances were immediate addressed to ensure people remained safe. People received timely support from a consistent staff team. Systems used for the management of medicines were safe and people received their medicines as prescribed.
People’s needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure their care needs were met. Care plans were updated promptly so staff always had access to the most current information.
Staff received training relevant to their role and had good support from the provider, registered manager and colleagues.
Staff sought people’s consent before providing care and decisions about people’s care and treatment were made in line with law and guidance. People received enough to eat and drink to maintain their health. People were supported to access healthcare agencies when required. The provider worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure consistency and ensure people received appropriate support.
People’s care was responsive to their changing needs. People, and their relatives, were involving in the assessment and planning of their care and communication was good to enable people to work together to ensure people’s needs were met fully. People knew how to raise a concern and always felt listened to.
People, relatives and staff felt the service was well managed. People, and staff, had regular opportunities to share their views about the service. The provider carried out audits to ensure the quality of care provided.
People were supported to make choices and retain control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.
Rating at last inspection The last rating for this service was good (published September 2016).
The service met the characteristics of ‘Good’ in all areas; more information is available in the full report below.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
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.