Archived: 365 Support Services

Updated 1 May 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 24 February 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice. This is in line with our current guidance for inspecting domiciliary care agencies.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

This was the provider’s first inspection for this location which was registered with the Care Quality Commission in April 2014 and began supporting people in their homes in July 2014. We did not have a Provider Information Return (PIR) for this inspection. This is a form which asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who received a service. We did this by visiting people in their own homes. We observed staff providing support and interacting with people.

We spoke with the registered manager, a director of the service and two support workers. We met a visiting social care professional and sought their feedback on the service. We also reviewed the written feedback provided from people who received a service, their family members and social and healthcare professionals.

We reviewed a range of records which included three care records for people who used the service, three records of staff recruitment, staff induction, training and supervision, medication records, the provider’s policies and procedures, safety and quality audits and records related to the overall management of the service.

Updated 1 May 2015

365 Support Services is a domiciliary care agency that supplies personal care and support to people in their own homes. 365 Support Services is based in Southport and provides care for approximately 11 people in the Southport area. They provide personal care for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs. The inspection took place on 24 February 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice. This is in line with our current guidance for inspecting domiciliary care agencies.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

Risk assessments and support plans had been completed to protect people from the risk of harm. Assessments had been completed for everyone who was receiving a service to help ensure people’s needs were met. Risk management plans were implemented, which were followed by staff to help ensure people received safe and effective care. Crisis management plans were also completed which recorded signs and symptoms people may display which would indicate a deterioration in their mental health.

Medication was administered, recorded and stored safely. Medicines were safely administered by suitably trained staff. The medication administration records we viewed were clearly presented to show the treatment people had received and prescriptions for new medication had been promptly started. Medicines audits were completed each week to help ensure that if any error/shortfalls arose they could be promptly identified and addressed.

Staff had been recruited safely to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. We found Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) checks had been carried out prior to new members of staff working. DBS checks consist of a check on people’s criminal record and a check to see if they have been placed on a list for people who are barred from working with vulnerable adults. This assists employers to make safer decisions about the recruitment of staff. Staff understood how to recognise abuse and how to report concerns or allegations. There were processes in place to help make sure people were protected from the risk of abuse.

There were appropriate staffing levels to meet the needs of people who received a service from the agency.

Care staff had training and support through induction, a programme of training, supervision and appraisal. Regular mandatory (required) training included topics such as equality and diversity, fire safety, food hygiene, infection control, safeguarding adults and the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

Care staff were available to support people to access health care appointments if needed. The agency liaised with health and social care professionals involved in people’s care if their health or support needs changed or if their advice was required.

People who used the services of the agency were complimentary regarding staff; they told us all staff were kind and considerate and that they were treated with dignity.

Staff understood what people’s care needs were. Staff supported people’s independence in their home and the community. We saw good interaction and communication between the staff and the person they supported. Staff made themselves available to ‘chat’ with people who used the service, when they felt it necessary. Several people who received a service said they found this helped them. Other people we spoke with told us they “Trusted staff as they knew what they were talking about” and “Understood things about their illness”.

People‘s care needs were assessed. The care records we looked at showed that a range of assessments had been completed depending on people’s individual needs. Records were regularly reviewed which helped to ensure the information written in them was current. Support plans had been completed to guide staff as to what people required and what they could do for themselves. People told us the agency responded to their needs in a positive way. They told us the care staff listened to them, acted on what they said, delivered support in a way they liked and a time to suit them.

A complaints procedure was in place and details of how to make a complaint had been provided to people who used the service. People we spoke with knew how to raise a complaint. People who used the services of the agency were able to provide feedback about the quality of the service by completing surveys. Feedback we saw was very positive about the service.

Systems were in place to monitor and develop the quality of the service. This included audits of care records and medicines.