# Sandwell Community Caring Trust

*Operated by The Sandwell Community Caring Trust.*

Sandwell Community Caring Trust is a CQC-regulated home-care agency in Oldbury.

## CQC Ratings

| Key question | Rating |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | Requires improvement |
| Safe | Requires improvement |
| Effective | Good |
| Caring | Good |
| Responsive | Good |
| Well-led | Requires improvement |

Rating published: 12/03/2022

## Practical info

- Postcode: B68 0NP
- Local authority: Sandwell
- Region: West Midlands
- City: Oldbury
- Last CQC check: 12/Mar/2022 - 00:00

## Inspection findings

### effective

- Finding
  - Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely care
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Supporting people to live healthier lives and access healthcare services
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Staff support: induction, training, skills and experience
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidance
  - Published: 2024-07-16

### Other

- Finding
  - Evidence: Medicines administration records showed people received their medicines as prescribed and medication errors were low.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: The service worked in partnership with other professionals such as occupational therapists and social workers.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: The registered manager was open and transparent during the inspection and took immediate action on several concerns raised.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: Referrals were made to a range of health and social care professionals to ensure people's changing needs were addressed.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: Staff had a good understanding of people's dietary needs and personal preferences, including support for specialised diets.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: People and relatives reported feeling safe and were positive about the care received.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Evidence: Consistent staff group supported people who knew their needs well; the service did not use agency staff.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **record_keeping** _(minor)_
  - Evidence: Some care records contained unclear information. For one person who had a specialist health condition there was conflicting information about when the GP should be contacted.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **person_centred_care** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: The service had not explored how to support people in the least restrictive way. One person was unable to access their kitchen due to identified risk. Alternatives had not been explored.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **medication_management** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: Where people needed their medicines 'as and when required' protocols required more guidance for staff to follow. The lack of guidance increased the risk of people not having their medicines when required.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **infection_control** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: A large number of staff had not received Infection Prevention and Control training for over four years, and there were no competencies in place to ensure good practice in this area.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **incident_learning** _(moderate)_
  - Evidence: The provider had not taken enough action to share learning across the organisation and improve care following a safeguarding incident.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **governance** _(critical)_
  - Evidence: Governance systems to ensure the safety and quality of the service were not robust. The telephone audit system introduced at the start of COVID-19 was still in place despite government guidance changes allowing visits.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **staff_competency** _(critical)_
  - Evidence: Regular competency assessments were not taking place to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to support people. Some staff hadn't had a medication competency completed for over four years.
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- **staff_training** _(critical)_
  - Evidence: The provider shared their training matrix which showed a significant number of staff had not received some training for over four years. This included mental capacity, infection control, fluid and nutrition, health and safety.
  - Published: 2024-07-16

### safe

- Finding
  - Staffing and recruitment
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Using medicines safely
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Preventing and controlling infection
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Learning lessons when things go wrong
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse
  - Published: 2024-07-16

### well_led

- Finding
  - Working in partnership with others
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candour; continuous learning and improving care
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering
  - Published: 2024-07-16
- Finding
  - Managers and staff being clear about their roles and understanding quality, performance, risks and regulatory requirements
  - Published: 2024-07-16

## Source

Data published by the [Care Quality Commission](https://www.cqc.org.uk/) under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Canonical page: https://homecarecompass.co.uk/agency/1-123515298

HomeCare Compass is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the CQC.