We carried out a review of the data available to us about SNE Care Services Ltd on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about SNE Care Services Ltd, you can give feedback on this service.
SNE Care Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. 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 our inspection 89 people were receiving personal care from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Following the previous inspection in March 2022 the provider sent us an action plan to make the necessary improvements to the service. Improvements had been made and the service was no longer in breach of regulations.
People and their relatives spoke positively about the care and support provided by the service. Some people raised that they did not always receive care from the same members of care staff. We discussed this with the registered manager who explained they had recently recruited new staff which would mean consistent staff would be allocated to people.
Improvements had been made to the management and administration of medicines. Regular audits were undertaken to ensure any issues identified could be addressed immediately.
Safe recruitment practices were in place. Appropriate background checks were in place to enable staff to work in this country.
Risk to people’s safety had been assessed and plans were in place to guide staff on how to support people safely. There were processes in place for reviewing and investigating accidents, incidents and safeguarding to ensure lessons were learned and these were shared with staff.
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.
Systems were in place to manage and monitor infection control. Appropriate PPE was available to staff.
Quality monitoring and assurance systems were in place to ensure the registered manager had oversight of the service. Regular audits were undertaken, and actions followed up.
Complaints were taken seriously and used as an opportunity to improve the service and experience for people. Surveys were undertaken and feedback summarised to identify any actions needed.
The service had a positive culture. The registered manager had a good understanding of equality and diversity and was active with putting this into practice. The service worked in partnership with others to ensure people’s needs were met.
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 requires improvement (published 16 May 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 22 March 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve Regulation 17 HSCA RA Regulations 2014 Good governance
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for SNE Care Services Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
SNE Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. 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 our inspection 77 people were receiving personal care from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Auditing and oversight of the service were not always robust. We found some issues that the provider’s systems had either not identified or not corrected. The registered manager had planned a range of improvements and had been working hard to deliver these. Some the changes were recent and had not always ensured consistent good practice.
People did not always have their medicines as planned or at the correct times. The medicines audit system did not follow best practice and did not always ensure medicines errors were identified or acted on in a timely way.
The provider had recruitment processes to minimise the risk of unsuitable staff being employed, however we found occasions were references had not been robustly checked to ensure these were from an appropriate source.
Support plans and risk assessments were person centred but staff did not always have clear guidance around all potential risks. Management and senior staff were very knowledgeable about people’s individual needs and staff felt they had enough information to support people safely.
There were enough staff on duty and care was planned to provide consistency of care. There had been some issues with staffing and recruitment due to the impact of Covid-19. Most people and relatives gave positive feedback about the service and the staff who supported them. Some people told us; however, they did not always get consistent care from staff who understood their support needs. The registered manager was recruiting staff and had started some initiatives to lessen the impact of staffing pressures.
People were safeguarded from abuse and the provider had effective infection control procedures in place.
Where concerns were identified, lessons were learnt and shared with staff. The management and staff we spoke with had a clear focus on delivering positive outcomes for people. The service worked with and acted on feedback from partner agencies. The management had sought feedback on the quality of the service from staff, people and relatives to develop the service.
The registered manager acted immediately to address the issues we identified at this inspection and communicated changes and best practice with staff.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (24 November 2018).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management of medicines, safe staffing and the quality and consistency of people’s care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and 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 SNE Care Services Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection. Governance and auditing systems did not always identify and rectify issues in a timely way, particularly in relation to medicines and recruitment.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
The service was last inspected in June 2016. At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using SNE Care Services Ltd receives regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 70 people were receiving personal care from the service.
There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was also the owner and registered provider of the service. In this report they will be referred to as the registered manager.
Risks to people were assessed and plans put in place to address them. Plans were in place to support people in emergency situations. People were safeguarded from abuse. Medicines were managed safely. The provider had effective infection control policies and procedures in place. The registered manager monitored staffing levels to ensure there were enough staff employed to support people safely. The provider’s recruitment processes minimised the risk of unsuitable staff being employed.
An assessment of people’s health and social needs was carried out before they started using the service to ensure the correct support was available to them. Staff were supported with regular training, supervision and appraisal. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported with managing food and nutrition and to access external professionals to monitor and promote their health.
People spoke very positively about the support they received from staff. Relatives also said staff provided kind and caring support. People and their relatives told us staff treated people with dignity and respect. The service had received written compliments about the quality of the care it provided. People were supported to access advocacy services where needed.
People received person-centred care. Policies and procedures were in place to investigate and respond to complaints. At the time of our inspection nobody using the service was receiving end of life care, but policies and procedures were in place to provide this where needed.
Staff spoke positively about the culture and values of the service, and the leadership provided by the registered manager. People and their relatives also spoke positively about the registered manager and the service. The registered manager had informed CQC of significant events in a timely way by submitting the required notifications. This meant we could check that appropriate action had been taken. The registered manager carried out quality assurance checks to monitor and improve standards at the service. Feedback was regularly sought from people, relatives and staff. The service had links with various community and healthcare agencies to help ensure people received the care and support they needed
SNE Care Services Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to older people in their own home. The service supports people in the Teesside and North Yorkshire area. At the time of the inspection 25 people were using the service.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People said they received safe care. Risks to people were assessed and plans put in place to minimise the chances of them occurring. Risk assessments were reviewed every month to ensure they met people’s current support needs. Accidents and incidents were investigated and recorded to see if any remedial action was needed.
There was a safeguarding policy in place. Staff had an understanding of safeguarding and told us they would be confident to raise any concerns they had. Policies and procedures were in place to ensure people had safe access to their medicines. People said their medicines were managed safely.
The registered manager monitored staffing levels to ensure sufficient staff were employed to support people safely. Staff told us staffing levels were sufficient to support people safely. People told us staff were usually on time and that they were supported by a stable care team. Recruitment procedures were in place to minimise the risk of unsuitable staff being employed, including pre-employment checks.
There was a business contingency plan in place to help provide a continuity of care in the event that an emergency situation disrupted the service.
Staff received mandatory training in a number of areas and spoke positively about the training they received. Office staff and the registered manager also completed mandatory training so they could assist with care work. Staff were supported through regular supervisions and appraisals were planned.
The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Staff understood and applied the principles of the MCA when supporting people, and consent was sought from people before support was given.
Some people received support with food and nutrition as part of their care package. Where they did they said they chose what they would like to eat and drink and staff supported them to access it.
People were supported to access external professionals to maintain and promote their health, and input from them was used to plan and deliver support.
People described the support they received as kind and caring. Staff told us they enjoyed getting to know the people they supported and had the time to do so..
People said staff treated them with respect, maintained their dignity and put them at ease when delivering personal care. Staff told us how they respected people’s dignity and treated them with respect.
There was no advocacy policy in place but the registered manager told us how people would be supported to access advocacy services. At the time of the inspection no one was receiving end of life care. The registered manager was able to describe how this would be arranged should it be necessary.
Care was planned and delivered based on people’s assessed needs and preferences. People said they were involved in planning their care and that it reflected their preferences. Staff said the care plans helped them to get to know people’s needs and preferences.
Some people received social calls as part of their care package. Where they did, people said activities were based on their choices and what they wanted to do.
There was a complaints policy in place and people were provided with a copy of this when they started using the service. People told us they knew how to complain and were confident any issues raised would be dealt with.
Staff described a positive culture and caring values at the service and said they felt supported by the registered manager, who they said was approachable.
Staff confirmed that staff meetings took place, which they said made them feel included in how the service was managed.
Feedback was sought from people using the service and their relatives through an annual questionnaire. The service had received positive feedback in these questionnaires. People using the service confirmed they were asked for feedback on the service they received.
The registered manager carried out a number of quality assurance checks to monitor and improve standards at the service and regularly contacted people to ask for their views on the service.
The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities, and had submitted notifications they were required to make to the Commission.