Archived: Options

Updated 16 February 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 5 and 7 January 2015 and we gave short notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and the staff are often not available in the office during the day. We also needed to be able to arrange our telephone calls to people who used the service.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector 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. The expert-by- experience had specific expertise in supporting people who have a learning disability.

Before the inspection visit we reviewed the information we held about the service, including the Provider Information Return (PIR) which the provider completed before the inspection. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also reviewed information we received since the last inspection including three notifications about medication errors that the provider had sent us. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that providers must inform us about.

During our inspection we went to the office and spoke to the registered manager and office manager reviewed the care records of three people who used the service, reviewed the records of four staff and records relating to the management of the service. We met two support workers and three senior staff and one person who used the service. We spoke by phone to six people and one person’s relative.

Updated 16 February 2015

We undertook an announced inspection of Options on 5 and 7 January 2015. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. This was to ensure staff were available in the office to see us. Options provides personal care services to people in their own homes, specifically people who have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection 13 people were receiving support with personal care. Options also provide social support to around 90 people in the community.

At our last inspection in December 2013 the service was meeting the regulations inspected.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were systems in place to help keep people safe from unnecessary risks to their safety and wellbeing. There were enough staff to ensure people’s needs were met in a flexible way.

Staff were provided with regular training and understood what their roles and responsibilities were. The staff team had the right skills and experience to effectively assist people with their care and support needs.

The staff understood about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its impact on people they supported. They knew that this meant people had the right to make decisions about their care. They also understood that it meant people were to be properly supported and their rights protected when they were not able to give consent .

Staff supported people to meet their healthcare needs. Staff assisted people to go to GP appointments and to see other healthcare professionals when it was required.

People were consulted and involved in planning how their needs were met. They were supported by staff who were kind and caring in their approach. One person told us “ I get on brilliantly with the staff they have helped me a lot ”.

Where it was an identified need for people, they were supported to plan and cook a healthy and nutritious diet.

Recruitment and staff selection procedures were in place which helped minimise the risk of unsuitable staff being employed to work with people.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and the office based manager who managed the staff team. There was an open and accessible management culture for people who used the services and the staff.

The registered manager carried out regular reviews with people to find out directly what they felt about the quality of the service provided. For example one person changed to a different member of staff supporting them based on the feedback they gave the manager.