Caremax Support Services Ltd

Updated 6 May 2022

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

This inspection was completed my one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission; this person was also the provider. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We were unable to speak with people who used the service as they declined to speak with us during our inspection. We offered people alternative forms of giving feedback about their care, but they did not wish to share any feedback with us. We spoke with three members of staff including the provider and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care 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.

After the inspection

We continued to review the information sent to us by the provider. This included staff training records and staff rotas. We also spoke with multiple professionals that work with the service.

Updated 6 May 2022

About the service

Caremax Support Services Ltd is a supported living service providing personal care to people within their own houses or flats. The service provides support to people experiencing substance misuse, have a diagnosis of a mental health condition or a learning disability, younger adults and children. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

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

People were not supported by a provider and staff who understood government guidance in relation to COVID-19 and was following this. People's risk assessments did not always contain full information around their known risks. One person's complaint had not been managed in a supportive and open way. We made a recommendation to the provider to review their management and approach to complaints and how why support people using the service to raise concerns. Quality assurance tools had not identified the concerns we found during this inspection.

People were supported by staff who understood safeguarding concerns and were reporting these as required to the local safeguarding team. People were supported to access their local community and maintain their relationships.

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. People were supported by trained staff who understood people's needs.

People's dignity and privacy was promoted by staff. People were supported in line with their preferences. People were supported appropriately with their communication needs. People had access to health and social care professionals as they required these.

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

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of safeguarding concerns at the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements in other areas of the service. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.