Archived: Sunshine Coast Support Ltd

Sunshine Coast Support Ltd is a domiciliary care agency in Eastbourne. It provides support with personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing personal care to 11 people. Not everyone who used the service 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

Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and how to protect people from the risk of harm or abuse. There were enough staff who had been safely recruited to look after people. Systems were in place to ensure people received their prescribed medicines in a safe way. People received the care and support they needed because staff knew them really well and understood their needs. They were able to tell us about people as individuals, their choices and preferences as to how they liked their care delivered.

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. Staff received training that enabled them to deliver the care that people needed. Staff received support from the registered manager and their colleagues. People's health needs were met, they were supported to have access to healthcare services when they needed them.

People were supported by staff who demonstrated kindness and had a caring approach. Staff were committed to providing care that was appropriate and ensured people were able to live their lives as they wanted. Staff knew people well and supported their independence as far as possible.

People received support that was person-centred, and systems were in place to ensure people always had a visit as scheduled. Complaints had been recorded, investigated and responded to appropriately.

There was a clear staffing structure and staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities. The registered manager took a central role in the service and led by example. She demonstrated a dedication and strong commitment to providing a quality service with people at the heart of the service. Quality monitoring systems were used to develop and improve the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (Report published 20 December 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Sunshine Coast Support Ltd provides personal care services to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection eight people were receiving a personal care service. Sunshine Coast Support Ltd provides support for people who require a range of personal and care support related to personal hygiene, mobility, nutrition and continence. Some people were living with early stages of a dementia type illness or other long-term health related conditions. People lived reasonably independent lives but required support to maintain this independence.

There is a registered manager at the service who is also one of the owners and a director of the company. 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 provider and registered manager had good oversight of the service. They knew people and staff well and had a clear vision for the future of the service. Although some systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service these needed to be established and embedded into practice to ensure the service continues to develop and improve. Support plans were detailed and person centred however we found they did not include all the information to demonstrate the support people required and received.

People told us they were happy with the support they received and staff were very caring. People’s care was personalised to reflect their wishes and what was important to them. People were supported by staff who knew them well and understood their needs and preferences. They were visited at times that suited them. People were introduced to staff before they provided them with care and they were looked after by a small team of regular staff who knew them well.

There were a range of environmental and individual risk assessments in place to ensure people were looked after safely. Staff had a good understanding of the risks associated with supporting people. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding; they were able to recognise different types of abuse and told us what actions they would take if they believed someone was at risk. There were systems in place to ensure people received the medicines they had been prescribed.

There were enough staff who had been safely recruited to meet the needs of people who used the service. People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service to ensure their needs and preferences could be fully met.

There was an induction and an ongoing training and supervision programme in place to ensure staff had appropriate skills to support people who used the service. Staff understood the principles of consent and the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

People’s nutritional needs were assessed and met. They were supported to receive enough to eat and drink. Staff knew people well and recognised when they may need to be referred to a healthcare professional for example the GP or district nurse.

The provider and registered manager had developed an open and positive culture at the service. The aim of the service focussed on providing a good level of support to people. Staff felt listened to and well supported.