Background to this inspection
Updated
4 July 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.
During the inspection
We spoke to the registered manager, the operations director, the nominated individual, 2 care staff and 4 relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's complete care records and medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision as well as staff feedback forms. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Updated
4 July 2023
About the service
Routes Healthcare Sunderland is a domiciliary care provider registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 17 people were using the service and being supported with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff were safely recruited and received an induction followed by training from the provider.
Training was monitored and staff were supported with regular meetings and supervisions. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.
People and their relatives were very positive about the care provided. People told us they felt safe, and staff had the skills to support them. Relatives provided positive examples of how staff had helped improve people's lives since receiving support from the service.
The registered manager had an effective quality assurance system in place. Regular audits and checks were done. These were used to identify relevant actions and lessons learnt. People, relatives, staff and professionals were offered opportunities to provide feedback.
The service was following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe
Medicines were managed safely. Risks to people were assessed and action taken to reduce the chances of them occurring. The registered manager acted on feedback immediately. People were safeguarded from abuse.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 15 July 2022).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 19 April 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve staffing, safe care and treatment and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Routes Healthcare Sunderland on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.