Smartway Health and Social Care Limited

Updated 4 May 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 12, 13 and 23 April 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because Smartway Health & Social Care provides a domiciliary care service, and we needed to make arrangements to speak with the people using the service, staff and have access to records. The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Before we visited the service we reviewed the information we held about the service, including the Provider Information Return (PIR) that the provider had completed in June 2017. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed notifications sent to us by the provider. Statutory notifications are information the provider is legally required to send to us about significant events.

Although we did not visit people in their own homes, we did speak with a number of relatives of people using the service over the telephone. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, two senior carers, two carers and the administrator for the service. We looked at eight people’s care records, seven staff personnel files and staff training records. We also looked at three people’s medicines records and records used by the provider to monitor and assess the quality of the service being provided.

Updated 4 May 2018

This inspection took place on 12, 13 and 23 April 2018 and was announced to ensure someone would be present at the service to provide us with any information we needed to support the inspection process.

This was the first inspection since the service was registered with the Care Quality Commission in May 2015. Smartway Health and Social Care Limited is a domiciliary care service providing support for people living in their homes who may need support with aspects of their daily living.

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.

People were protected from potential harm and abuse through the knowledge of staff and management. Risks to people’s safety were identified, assessed and, where necessary, appropriate action taken to keep people safe.

Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed.

People were treated with respect, consideration and kindness. Their privacy and dignity was upheld and they were supported to maintain their independence whenever possible.

People were supported by a team of staff that had had training and support to maintain their skills and knowledge to meet their needs.

Care was provided in a personalised way from staff who knew people’s needs and preferences. People were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. Information and arrangements were in place for the staff team to respond to concerns or complaints from people using the service and their representatives.

People who used the service who we spoke with and their relatives all had a positive attitude about the service being delivered and about the standard of care and support provided by the staff team.