Background to this inspection
Updated
19 November 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.
This was a targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about staff responding to people’s deteriorating healthcare needs.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an inspection manager.
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, however they were unavailable during the inspection. 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. We were supported by an acting manager during the inspection.
Notice of inspection
We informed the provider we would be inspecting the service with 45 minutes notice because we wanted to ensure there was time for the provider to facilitate a safe visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspection activity started on 7 October and ended on 13 October 2020. We visited the office location on 7 and 9 October 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one person who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the nominated individual and acting manager. 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 four people’s care records and multiple medication records. 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 training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with two local authorities who commission with the service.
Updated
19 November 2020
About the service
Sonia Heway Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 11 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
The acting manager and nominated individual did not have full oversight of the service. The provider’s electronic call monitoring system had not been working for three days, and no one working at the service had realised until this was bought to their attention during the inspection. The acting manager did not have access to essential information needed to have oversight of the service, including information about people’s healthcare needs and handover information, due to a technical error. Staff supported people to manage their healthcare needs.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 21 October 2020).
Why we inspected
We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about staff responding to people’s deteriorating healthcare needs. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains inadequate.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Sonia Heway Care Agency on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified a breach in relation to good governance. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Special Measures
The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service remains in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.
If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.
For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.