ML Homes

Updated 10 August 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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in four ‘supported living’ settings, 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ 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.

Inspection activity started on 28 April 2022 and ended on 11 May 2022. We visited the location’s office and one supported living service on 28 April 2022. We spoke with people, a relative and staff on 28 April 2022, 3 May and 5 May 2022. Feedback of the inspection was provided to the registered manager on 11 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and formal notifications that the service had sent to the CQC. Notifications are information that registered persons are required to tell us about by law that may affect people's health and wellbeing. 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 spoke with one person who used the service and one relative. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and two care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to staff recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service and quality assurance were reviewed. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. We held a follow up meeting with the registered manager to validate the evidence found.

Updated 10 August 2022

About the service

ML Homes is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to adults with mental health support needs within a supported living setting. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting one person with personal care.

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

A person and their relative spoke positively of the service and told us they felt safe with the staff that supported them. However, despite positive feedback we found issues with the management of a person’s risks, staff recruitment, management of medicines and management oversight.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service, however they did not identify the issues we found during the inspection.

A person’s risks were not always fully assessed and documented within their care records.

A person was kept safe from the risk of infection and COVID-19.

We made a recommendation around the management of medicines.

We made a recommendation around staff recruitment.

A person was supported by staff who were skilled and trained to carry out their role. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team, however not all staff were receiving regular supervision in line with procedure.

A person and their relative told us they were supported by kind and caring staff that respected their privacy and supported their independence.

A person was involved in planning and reviewing their care. Overall a person and their relative told us staff understood their preferences and choices. A person told us they could raise any concerns with staff.

A person was 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.

The management team sought the views of people using the service and their relatives. A person and their relative told us they were satisfied with 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

This service was registered with us on 10 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified a breach in relation to management oversight at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this 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.