Archived: Synergy Homecare - Middlesbrough

Updated 11 October 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

Synergy Homecare is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and we wanted to be sure managers would be available to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 19 September 2019 and ended on 23 September 2019.

We visited the office location on 19 September 2019 and undertook telephone calls to people and their relatives on 23 September 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the director, registered manager, care coordinator and three care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and support plans and, their medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 11 October 2019

Synergy Homecare is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to 31 people at the time of the inspection. This included adults living with a dementia type illness and a ‘fast track,’ short term service supporting people to leave hospital or remain at home when unwell.

Not everyone who used Synergy Homecare 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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Risks to people’s health needs were assessed. However, we found some information was not up to date regarding people’s dietary requirements and skin condition to provide staff with guidance on the actions they needed to take.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The provider had policies and procedures in place and staff had been trained. However, some care and support plans did not accurately record the support people needed when making decisions about their care and when best interest decisions had been made.

The provider’s quality assurance checks had not identified some of the issues found during this inspection regarding assessment of people’s health risks and accurate recording of people’s capacity.

Staff knew how to safeguard people from abuse. Medicines were managed safely. The provider had a safe recruitment process in place. Staff received training and supervision to support them to effectively carry out their roles.

The management team used information following accidents and incidents to reduce the likelihood of future harm and learn lessons.

People and their relatives told us they were supported by a staff team who knew them well and were skilled and knowledgeable. The service provided flexible care, person-centred support in line with people's needs and wishes.

People's privacy, dignity and independence was supported. People could plan for their future, including their wishes at end of life.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 11 October 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.