Archived: Choice Support Nottingham

Updated 27 September 2016

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.

We visited the service on 17 August 2016, this was an announced inspection. We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection team consisted of 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.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We contacted commissioners (who fund the care for some people) of the service and asked them for their views. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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.

During our inspection we spoke with seven people who were using the service. We also spoke with two support workers, a team leader, a service manager and the registered manager. In addition, we visited the office and looked at the care plans of six people and any associated daily records such as the daily log and medicine administration records. We looked at four staff files as well as a range of records relating to the running of the service such as quality audits and training records.

Updated 27 September 2016

This inspection took place on 17 August 2016. Choice Support Nottingham is a supported living and outreach service which provides personal care and support to people in their own home. On the day of our inspection 58 people were using the service.

The service had 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.

People felt safe and were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe. A recent concern shared by a staff member had not been reported in a timely way, although lessons had been learnt following this. Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and appropriately managed. People were supported by a sufficient number of staff. People received the support they needed to safely manage their medicines and did so with an appropriate degree of independence.

Staff had the knowledge and skills to care for people effectively and felt well supported. People received the level of support they required to have enough to eat and drink and were supported to access a range of healthcare services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). We found this legislation was being used correctly to protect people who were not able to make their own decisions about the care they received. Where people had the capacity they were asked to provide their consent to the care being provided.

People were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Caring relationships had been developed and people were supported by staff who understood their personalities and the best way to engage with them. People and their relatives were able to be involved in the planning and reviewing of their care. Staff supported people to make day to day decisions.

People were provided with support that was responsive to their changing needs and staff helped people to maintain any hobbies and interests they had. There was a focus of helping people to set and achieve goals and to learn new skills. People felt able to make a complaint and were provided with an accessible complaints procedure. There was an appropriate response to any complaints received.

The culture of the service was open and honest and people and staff gave their opinions on how the service was run and suggestions were implemented where possible. The registered manager acknowledged that they had altered their approach to ensure they were more open to challenge from staff. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and ensure that improvements to the service were made.