Domiciliary Care Services and Supportive Living Services

Updated 3 February 2023

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 conducted by 4 inspectors and an Expert by Experience.

An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 5 ‘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.

This service also provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 manager in post who had submitted their application to become registered manager with the CQC.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also announced visits to the ‘supported living’ settings because we needed to make sure people consented to a home visit from an inspector.

Inspection activity started on 9 December 2022 and ended on 6 January 2023. We visited the location’s office and 4 supported living services on 14 and 15 December 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service. We sought feedback from local authority and 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 was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service, 10 family members and 13 staff including the service manager, who had applied to CQC to register as the manager, 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 7 people's care records and medication records. We looked at 3 staff recruitment files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 3 February 2023

Domiciliary Care Services and Supportive Living Services is a supporting living and domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in the Calderdale area. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. The service provides supported living services in 5 locations. At the time of our inspection there were 24 people using the service either in their own homes or in supported living locations.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service met the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support:

People were safe and protected from avoidable harm. Detailed risk assessments were in place and regularly reviewed to make sure staff knew how to support people safely. Medicines were managed safely. Adaptations were put in place to enable people to manage their own medicines wherever possible. Environmental risks were identified and addressed through audit systems. The model of care met the right support, right care, right culture guidance. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and support people in meeting their lifestyle choices. Staff were safely recruited. 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. When people were not able to make important decisions, the best interest process was followed. People were supported to be as independent as possible.

Right Care:

The service focused on people's quality of life and maximising skills. Care delivery was person-centred. Care and activities to meet people’s preferences were planned in a way that met people's individual needs and interests. Opportunities for new experiences such as meaningful employment were sought. People's communication needs were met. People’s relatives told us staff picked up on non-verbal communication and alternative methods of communication were used as needed. People told us they were happy and were genuinely fond of staff. One person said staff were like family to them. Staff demonstrated a respect for the people they supported.

Right Culture:

Audit systems were in place to make sure people were safe and received the support they needed and had a good quality of life. Staff received training appropriate to the needs of the people they supported and understood the mission, visions and values of the service. People had opportunities for their views of the service to be heard. People were supported to be part of the local community and to raise awareness of living with a learning disability.

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 10 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.