Background to this inspection
Updated
18 March 2022
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 a specialist advisor who was a nurse.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission working in a job share role. 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 notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or management team would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since their 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
The people receiving support did not have verbal communication and we were told they could become distressed when introduced to new people. Respecting this, we spoke with three people’s relatives to gain their feedback on the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the two registered managers, senior lead care and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service.
Updated
18 March 2022
About the service
Charnat Support Services provides personal care and support to people with learning and physical disabilities who live independently in the community. At the time of the inspection three people were using the service and receiving 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
The provider's audits and quality monitoring processes were not consistently effective in identifying improvement required within the service.
We found inconsistencies in care records and changes to some people’s health conditions had not been reflected in care plans.
Audits conducted had not identified the inconsistences we found in MARS charts and training records.
The provider carried out recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable for the role. Improvements were required to DBS risk assessments to ensure they were specific to the individual concern and how that could potentially have an impact on people.
Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm.
People received their medicines as prescribed. Infection control policies and procedures were in place to keep people safe.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way and in their best interests: the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture. There was a strong focus on supporting people to be independent, develop their skills and access their local community. This enabled people who used the service to live as full as life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. Improvements were required in relation to care records and quality assurance processes to support good outcomes for people.
Right support:
• Model of care and setting maximises people's choice, control and independence
Right care:
• Care is person-centred and promotes people's dignity, privacy and human
rights
Right culture:
• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
People's individual communication needs were considered to support them to be involved in their care.
The management and care team ensured they supported people in a person-centred way to reflect people's equality and diverse needs.
The service worked well with health and other professionals to ensure people's needs were met.
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 Inadequate (02 December 2020 Inadequate).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified continued breaches in relation to the governance of the service being provided. However, the provider was no longer in breach of safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.