The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told leaders at Solsken Limited that they must make further improvements to the quality of services following an inspection in February.
CQC carried out an unannounced inspection of Solsken Limited to follow up on concerns from a previous inspection where it was rated inadequate and issued with a warning notice.
The service provides care to individuals with complex care needs in their own homes. It opened in 2018 and is based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, but operates nationally.
Following the latest inspection, the service has been rated as inadequate overall. It was also rated inadequate for being safe and well led, and rated requires improvement for being effective, caring and responsive.
Brian Cranna, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said:
“During our latest inspection of Solsken Limited, we found that there had not been enough improvements in some areas since we last visited. It’s vital these issues are addressed urgently to ensure people receive safe and appropriate care.
“Understaffing continued to be a serious concern, with staff working excessive hours with no breaks or support. Family members often had to step in to provide care as there were not enough staff to cover all shifts, which had a negative impact on their mental and physical health. All of this meant the quality of care being provided to people was compromised.
“The service had no policy regarding the maximum number of hours staff should work over a given time period, and there was no guidance on how to protect the wellbeing of staff who worked excessive hours.
“Leaders did not promote a positive culture. We saw low levels of staff satisfaction and high levels of stress and work overload. Staff didn’t feel respected, valued, or supported, yet still worked hard to ensure people in their care were treated with compassion and kindness which is a testament to their resilience.
“Relatives gave positive feedback about staff who directly cared for people, describing them as caring, polite and part of their family. However, they said managers were hard to communicate with and often didn’t respond to their concerns or complaints.
“We have taken action and will continue to monitor this service and if insufficient improvement is made, we will use our enforcement powers further to ensure people receive appropriate and safe care.”
Inspectors found:
- There was no policy, procedure or oversight of staffing concerns including gaps in care provision, staff working excessive hours, effectiveness of contingency plans and overall wellbeing.
- Staff did not feel respected, supported and valued and feedback from staff and families of patients was that managers were not always visible or approachable within the service.
- The service used a combination of electronic and paper records. Inspectors found that records were not always up to date.
- Whilst the service had made some improvements to their complaints process since our last inspection, some families still told us they had not received a response or resolution to a concern raised.
- The service did not have enough staff to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide care and treatment
- Managers did not ensure that staff responsible for training others within the service were competent, trained and appropriately qualified to do so, and did not ensure all staff had undertaken required competency training.
- Staff controlled infection risk well. They used equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection.
- Patients and their families told us, and we observed, that support staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs.
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