Archived: SureCare Charnwood and Rushcliffe

SureCare Charnwood and Rushcliffe is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes. The office is based in Loughborough Leicestershire. The service provide support to people living in Leicestershire and surrounding towns and villages. They support people with a variety of care needs including physical disabilities and general care and domestic needs.

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.

Most people felt safe using the services of SureCare Charnwood & Rushcliffe. However, there was a variation in staff knowledge of their responsibilities to keep people from harm and abuse. Some staff required further training in safeguarding vulnerable adults. Risks associated with the care people received was assessed and relevant measures to minimize risks were put in place where required.

The provider had safe recruitment practices. They completed relevant pre-employment checks which assured them that staff were safe to work with people that used the service. Staff were not always deployed as agreed in people’s care plan.

People received the support they required to take their medicines.

People who used the service felt that the more experienced staff were more competent and skilled than newer members of staff. We found that relevant staff training was not consistently up to date.

Staff had a very limited understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

People told us that staff were kind and compassionate to them. Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of the people they supported and helped them to be as independent as possible. They also treated people with dignity and respect.

People’s care plans were not always updated regularly so that they reflected their current and preferences. They did reflect individual outcomes people hoped to achieve through their care and support.

People knew how to express any concerns or raise a complaint. However, their complaint were not always dealt with in a satisfactory manner.

People complimented the current manager, and were hopeful that the quality of the service would improve with the registered manager's support. Staff felt supported, and they had opportunities to give and receive feedback on the service and their performance. They found it easy to approach the registered manager or director for support when required. The registered manager had commenced implementation of their action plan to drive improvements in the service and monitor the quality of the service.

People who used the service, and their relatives, had been involved in making decisions about their care and support. One relatives told us, 'If the staff have any concerns about anything they tell me and ask my opinion. I feel very involved in it all.'

The service was delivered in a reliable way which was confirmed when we spoke with people. One told us, 'I have been using the service for two years and there has only been one occasion when they were late. They are very reliable indeed.'

Staff understood the potential risks facing the vulnerable people they supported and were alert to these. They were clear about the action they would take should they suspect a person's safety or welfare was at risk.

An effective recruitment and selection processes was followed when new staff were appointed which included taking up appropriate checks prior to employment.

People told us that if they had any concerns about the service they felt able to raise these and felt confident action would be taken. One person told us, 'I can raise any issues and they do their best to sort them out. I can share my comments direct with the staff or with the office.'