Valleywood Care Limited

Updated 25 July 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Experts 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 is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing. The service also provides care and support to people living in ‘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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 4 days' notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to make arrangements to contact people by telephone and to visit people at home. Inspection activity started on 17 June and ended on 18 June. We visited the office location on 18 June 2019.

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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people who used the service and ten relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the provider, registered manager, the administrator, senior support staff and support staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three 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.

Updated 25 July 2019

Valleywood Care Ltd provides a combination of support as a domiciliary care agency and supported living service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. The supported living service provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home 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 has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People were positive about the care and support they received. They received safe care from familiar staff who understood their needs. People told us the service was reliable and staff arrived as expected.

Processes were in place to protect people from avoidable harm. Risks to people had been assessed and improvements had been made in relations to risk assessments. Medicines were managed safely and care plans had improved to include clearer guidance about the support people required with medicines.

People were supported by staff who were experienced, trained and supervised. The provider planned to introduce more specialised training for certain staff roles. Some staff inductions needed to take place in a timelier way.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and took account of their individual needs when providing care and support. Care plans were in place and included details about people’s likes and preferences. These had all been re-written and were individualised. They had been developed in consultation with people and their relatives. The service worked well with other agencies to promote people’s health and well-being.

Improvements had been made to ensure staff followed The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) 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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People told us the service was well-led, felt well supported overall and felt there had been improvements to the organisation. However, some staff felt that areas could be better managed within the supported living service. A new support living manager had been recruited and improvements had been made to the areas identified at the last inspection. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and was aware where further improvements were required.

The provider had made improvements to ensure CQC were notified of incidents as legally required. Systems had been implemented to ensure the service learnt from any incidents or complaints and take action to develop the service further.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 18 June 2018) and there was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.