Archived: SRP Healthcare

Updated 15 December 2021

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 carried out by three inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Where a registered manager is in post, 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. The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of 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.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the provider was unable to facilitate an office visit for inspectors. The provider was also unable to supply requested records for remote review, which delayed the inspection process. As a result, inspection activity started on 23 June 2021 and ended on 20 October 2021. We visited the office location on 20 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals who work with the service such as Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider did not complete the required Provider Information Return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account in making our judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and two people’s friends or relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including a care worker, the director and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and 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.

Updated 15 December 2021

About the service

SRP Healthcare is a small domiciliary care agency based in Essex, providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the start of the inspection, two people were being supported by the service.

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

Governance and oversight systems in some areas required further development. We did not find this had an impact on the quality of care provided due to the small number of people using the service, but the provider was aware these would need to be embedded going forward. There had been no registered manager in post since April 2020, although the provider had attempted to recruit, this had been unsuccessful.

People received assessments prior to joining the service to ensure their needs could be met. People were actively engaged in meal planning, shopping and preparation to meet their nutritional needs. Staff received induction, shadowing and training to support their development in the role. Supervisions were carried out but not always recorded.

We have made a recommendation about the recording of supervisions for staff development.

Systems and processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of harm. Risk assessments were carried out, without restricting people’s independence. Medicines were managed safely, and people received medicines as prescribed. Infection prevention and control measures were in place, including access to staff COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment (PPE). Staff were recruited safely, and the relevant employment checks carried out.

Staff were described as caring and compassionate, empowering people to achieve good outcomes to support their health and wellbeing. People were supported to achieve their ambitions and maintain their independence.

Care plans were person-centred and regularly reviewed to ensure they reflected the most up-to-date information on people’s care and support needs, choices and preferences. The provider responded to complaints, concerns and incidents to improve outcomes for people. Information was provided to people and their representatives in an accessible way.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• The model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence, through provision of 24-hour support in people’s homes and comprehensive care planning.

Right care:

• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights, including advocating for people to support them to achieve their ambitions and be independent.

Right culture:

• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives; feedback from people’s relatives stated this to be the case.

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 13/01/2020 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, published on 27 May 2017.

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.