Archived: Cyndarl Care Agency Ltd

Updated 4 September 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service did not have a registered manager in place. The nominated individual was responsible for the management of the service and told us they planned to apply to register as the manager with the Care Quality Commission. The provider is 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 would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we looked at the information we already held about this service. This included details of its registration and any notifications the provider had sent us. We contacted the host local authority to seek their views about the service.

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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at information relating to employer’s liability insurance. We spoke by telephone with a relative of a person who used the service and a care assistant employed by the provider.

Updated 4 September 2019

About the service

Cyndarl Care Agency Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing care to a small number of people at the time of the inspection. 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.

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

Leadership at the service was not always effective because appropriate insurance cover was not in place and some care records had not been properly updated.

Systems were in place to help protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks people faced were assessed and managed. There were enough staff to support people and checks were carried out on staff before they commenced working. Steps were taken to reduce the spread of infection.

Assessments of people’s needs were carried out before they began using the service. Staff were supported in their roles through regular training and supervision. People were supported to make choices about their lives including what to eat and drink. 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.

Relatives told us people were treated respectfully. Staff understood how to promote people’s privacy and independence. The service sought to meet people’s needs in relation to equality and diversity. Confidentiality was promoted and information about people was not shared without proper authorisation.

Care plans were in place which were personalised around the needs of individuals. However, these were not subject to review. The service met people’s communication needs. The service had a complaints procedure in place and relatives knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and relatives spoke positively about senior staff and told us they were supportive and helpful. Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place, some of which included seeking people’s views about the service.

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 20 July 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on current inspection scheduling methodology.

Enforcement

We have identified one breach of regulation in relation to issues of ineffective leadership at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.