- Homecare service
SQ Carers Ltd
Assessment report published 29 September 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 01 September 2026 to 08 September 2026. SQ Carers is a domiciliary care service providing a regulated activity of personal care. The service provided care and support to younger and older people, people with a cognitive impairment and people with a physical disability, who live in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity of personal care. At the time of this assessment, SQ Carers supported 10 people.
The assessment was prompted in part by information of concern we received about the quality-of-care people received and the management of the service. This assessment examined those potential risks. This was a comprehensive inspection, and we reviewed the ratings for all key questions.
This inspection found systems for identifying, capturing and managing organisational risks and issues was not effective. Operational concerns were not always addressed and resolved in a timely way, for example, each missed or late care call was not fully investigated, so any emerging issues went unknown. People and relatives told us their care calls were not always when they needed, often causing them some issues. Staff did not always promote people’s privacy and dignity, and staff were not always sufficiently trained to understand people’s health needs. We found breaches of 3 legal regulations for good governance, person centred care and safe and effective staffing.
Risks to people’s wellbeing and safety were assessed, however some care records were conflicting in detail, with staff completing care information and reviews with limited knowledge of the person. People and families were not always involved in how their care was reviewed and received.
Most people were able to administer their medicines themselves or with family support. Where staff administered people’s medicines, some of those medicines were not always administered in line with guidance. Where care calls took place later than planned times, for those people, this could have an impact on their overall health and welfare.
Consent and agreement to certain practices was not always well thought through, especially when the provider outsourced some of their work to an external business. The provider had recruitment processes, but we found staff were not always recruited safely. We could not be confident; all safeguarding concerns were referred to appropriate agencies. There was evidence the provider worked alongside other health professionals, but records did not always evidence, staff followed the advice.
During our visit it was problematic getting the information we needed because it was sometimes on systems that could not be accessed by the provider. Following our visit, we sent the provider a formal request, asking for information we needed to help form our evidence and judgements. Despite receiving a response, some of the information requested was not provided and other information was unclear. Some telephone numbers for people we were given to call for their feedback, meant, they could not be reached, and we could not speak with all the staff we wanted to, as some of our calls were not returned. Therefore, we have made our judgements and ratings based on the evidence we hold.
People's experience of this service
Almost without exception, people and relatives raised concerns to us about call times, punctuality and staff staying for the agreed amount of time. People had preferred times and for people, they were not always met. One person said, “Their hours are all over the place.” The providers electronic call data showed staff had not always logged in or out, so it was difficult to establish if some care calls had been completed. People gave us examples of long delays between some care calls which had a negative impact on them. People found staff were not always trained or knowledgably, especially when supporting them with a specific health condition. One person said when they needed help showering and when they were unsteady, they did not feel they could rely on staff to support them to keep them safe.
Most people said staff were kind and caring, however most people said recent changes in the staff team meant some of those staff they got on well with had left the service. People felt new staff were not always informed or aware of their individual needs which affected the quality of service they received. People and relatives told us communicating with the office was a problem and if concerns were shared, sometimes they went unresolved.