- Homecare service
Sunderland
Report from 9 May 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 29 May to 19 June 2025. The inspection started remotely, and a site visit took place on 17 June 2025. ‘Sunderland’ is a care at home service providing support to older people and younger adults. At the time of inspection there were 3 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care. This was the first rated inspection of the service. A registered manager was in place, who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual and registered manager were registered with the Commission and were legally responsible for ensuring the service was compliant with legal and regulatory requirements.
Staff spoke very positively about working at the service and the people they cared for. Staff knew the care and support needs of people they supported, but improvements were needed to care records to reflect the person-centred care provided by staff. People received effective care and were supported to ensure their health care needs were met. People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. People were supported to take risks to improve their quality of life. Systems were in place to protect people and ensure their safety. However, some improvements were needed to medicine management to ensure they were managed safely. There were enough staff with the necessary skills, qualifications and experience. The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns.
The provider investigated incidents thoroughly. Staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Whilst the majority of the systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service were effective, some improvements were required to the oversight of medicines and care records. Staff and leaders demonstrated a listening culture and were open to learning and improvements.
People's experience of this service
We received positive comments from people, relatives and staff. Relatives and people told us staff were kind and caring, they were patient and treated people as individuals. Their comments included, “It is a great service”, “The service was recommended to us, the staff are great”, “It is a wonderful company”, “Brilliant care” and “Staff are very respectful and caring.” Relatives, people and staff were positive about the open culture of the service, they all said they were listened to, had opportunities to give feedback and any concerns were addressed. Their comments included, “The manager is very organised” and “The manager is very caring and approachable and would always call to see how [Name] was whilst in hospital.”
Relatives and staff said communication was effective. A relative commented, “I can contact them at any time”, “We are informed if staff are running late” and “Any changes and the manager lets us know.” Relatives told us people received consistent care from staff they knew. A relative commented, “Consistency with the same staff is very good.”Relatives all said people received high quality care from knowledgeable staff who treated them as individuals.