Background to this inspection
Updated
10 July 2015
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 over two days on 27 and 28 April 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the manager and some care workers would be present to talk with.
Two adult social care inspectors and two experts by experience carried out the inspection. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The experts by experience had experience in caring for older people and people living with dementia.
Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included correspondence we had received about the service and notifications submitted by the service.
We also contacted commissioners of the service and Healthwatch Sheffield. This information was reviewed and used to assist with our inspection. Healthwatch England is the national consumer champion in health and care and networks to share information, expertise and learning in order to improve health and social care services
During the inspection we met with five people who used the service and one relative. We also spoke over the telephone with 21 people who used the service and/or their relatives. We visited the office and spoke with nine members of staff, including the area support manager, the manager, care co-ordinators, care workers, a recruitment officer and a trainer. We spent time looking at records, which included five people’s care records, four staff records and other records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
10 July 2015
Sanctuary Homecare Limited (Sheffield) is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care. Support is provided to people in their own homes throughout the city of Sheffield. The agency office is based in the S5 area of Sheffield, close to bus routes.
At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 284 people and 95 care workers were employed.
This inspection took place on 27 and 28 April 2015. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be available.
As part of the inspection we spoke in person or over the telephone to people supported by Sanctuary Home Care Limited (Sheffield) to obtain their views of the support provided. We visited three people in their own homes and spoke with them and one of their relatives. We also spoke over the telephone with 21 people and/or their relatives. In addition, we spoke with two people who were visiting a community resource near the office.
We visited the office and spoke with nine members of staff, including the area support manager, the manager, care co-ordinators, care workers, a recruitment officer and a trainer.
Our last inspection took place on 13 May 2013. The service was found to be meeting the requirements of the regulations we inspected at that time.
This location requires 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.
The registered manager had left the service a few months prior to this inspection. The new manager had commenced in post in March 2015 and had applied to register with us.
People told us their care workers were kind, caring and polite. They told us they felt safe with their care workers. People spoken with said they had a regular care worker that they knew well. People said they usually knew which care worker would be visiting to support them and care workers generally arrived when they should.
The provider did not have adequate systems to ensure the safe handling, administration and recording of medicines to keep people safe.
The provider had undertaken all the checks required to make sure people who were employed at Sanctuary Home Care Limited (Sheffield) were suitable to be employed.
We found some care plans required reviewing to ensure they contained accurate information that reflected the needs of the person being supported. Care plans held in people’s homes were disorganised which made it difficult to locate important information.
Systems were in place to make sure staff were provided with relevant training so that they had the skills to do their job. When we saw care workers with people who used the service we saw that they communicated in a caring and respectful manner.
Staff told us they were provided with supervision for development and support. However, staff had not been provided with an appraisal to formally review their work.
Some systems were in place to quality assure the service being provided.
We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.