Background to this inspection
Updated
1 February 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. Inspection activity started on 7 January 2020 and ended on 8 January 2020. This was when we contacted people using the service and their relatives to obtain their feedback on their experience. We visited the office location on 8 January 2020.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection and sought feedback from the local authority.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the three people using the service and four relatives. We also were sent some written feedback from some relatives who were not able to speak with us. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, the care coordinator and two care workers. In addition, we spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We reviewed additional information sent to us by the registered manager.
Updated
1 February 2020
About the service
Focusability Care and Support services is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes and in specialist housing. It provides a service to younger and older adults, living with a range of support needs, to live independently in the community. Its offices are situated in the town of Market Rasen. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing personal care to 16 people. 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.
Some of the people using the service had a learning disability and/or autism. The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received reliable care from staff who were kind, caring, enthusiastic and professional. People and their relatives had confidence and trust in staff and were consistently positive in their feedback about the service. They were satisfied with the consistency of staffing and said they were cared for by a small group of staff who understood their needs and preferences very well.
Staff understood their responsibility to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. They were aware of risks to their health and safety and took action to reduce these risks. Staff managed people’s medicines safely and people told us staff gave them their medicines regularly.
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 confirmed staff listened to them and respected their wishes and choices.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
Staff were aware of each person’s needs and preferences and they received personalised care tailored to their needs and wishes. People told us staff were flexible and willing to accommodate changes to their care package whenever they could. People were supported to maintain a healthy, varied and balanced diet. Staff worked with health and social care professionals to ensure people received coordinated and consistent care.
The service was well led and managed. The management team were accessible and supportive and communication was good. People, relatives and staff confirmed they would feel comfortable raising any concerns and said any concerns were immediately addressed.
People, relatives and staff felt involved and engaged and commented on the willingness to continually learn and improve the service. The management team assessed the quality of care through feedback from people using the service and were developing further quality monitoring processes. They were committed to continuous quality improvement.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 7 July 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.