Heathbank Support Services

Updated 22 July 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, flats, and specialist housing.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period 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 22 June 2023 and ended on 4 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 22 June 2023.

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 spoke with 1 person who used the service and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 4 members of staff including the registered manager and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care records. We looked at records in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 22 July 2023

About the service

Heathbank Support Services is a domiciliary care agency ran by a small charitable organisation in Oldham. The service provides personal care to people with a learning disability or autism living in their own houses and flats. At the time of this inspection 6 people were using the service.

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.

Right Support:

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 received flexible support and they could adapt their daily support to suit their needs and choices. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing . We have made a recommendation about the provider reviewing the frequency of staff medicine competency assessments.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care, abuse and harm. The provider had robust safeguarding systems in place. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual needs.

Right Culture:

Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The registered manager evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person and their families as appropriate. Managers ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised, so people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity. We have made a recommendation about the provider reviewing their auditing processes.

People told us they felt safe and knew how to raise concerns. The registered manager and staff assessed health and safety. There were enough staff to meet peoples' needs and recruitment processes were ensured staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. People received consistent support from staff who knew them well. Staff worked with health professionals to support people's health needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 April 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations about the provider reviewing the frequency of staff medicine competency assessments and reviewing their auditing processes.

Follow up

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