C F Contact and Support Services Limited

Updated 28 September 2017

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.

This announced inspection took place on 19 September 2017 and was undertaken by one inspector. The service was given notice of our inspection to ensure someone would be available.

We reviewed information we held about the service, such as notifications and information sent to us from other stakeholders for example the local authority and members of the public.

Prior to our inspection we sent out questionnaires to support workers and community professionals to gain their feedback about the service. We received five completed questionnaires from support workers and one from a community professional.

During our inspection we spoke with the service’s director, the registered manager and the senior manager and head of safeguarding. We looked at records in relation to seven children and young people’s care. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, eight support worker’s recruitment and training records, and the systems for monitoring the quality of the service.

Following our inspection we spoke with four parents and three support workers on the telephone.

Updated 28 September 2017

C F Contact and Support Services Limited provides personal care and support to children and young people in the community and in their own homes. At the time of our comprehensive inspection of 19 September 2017 there were seven children and young people using the personal care service. The service was given notice of our inspection to ensure someone would be available. The service was registered in August 2015 and this was their first inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

There were systems in place designed to reduce the risks of children and young people being abused, such as providing support workers with training in safeguarding and guidance in the service’s policies and procedures. Children and young people’s care records provided guidance to support workers about how the risks in people’s daily living were minimised.

There were enough support workers to meet the needs of the children and young people using the service. There were robust recruitment systems in place.

Where children and young people required assistance to take their medicines there were arrangements in place to provide this support safely.

Children and young people were cared for and supported by support workers who were trained and supported to meet their needs.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2015 which relates to people over 16 years of age. For children and young people under the age of 16 years appropriate consent was sought before care was provided.

Where required, children and young people were provided with the support they needed to meet their dietary needs. The service worked with other professionals involved in children and young people’s care, including health professionals. This supported the good health of children and young people.

Children and young people and their families were treated with respect by their support workers and they shared positive relationships. Care records guided support workers in how children and young people’s privacy, dignity and independence was promoted and respected.

Children and young people received care and support which was planned and delivered to meet their specific needs. Children and young people and their relatives were involved in making decisions about their care and support.

There was a complaints procedure was in place.

There was an open and empowering culture in the service. Children and young people’s representatives, including their families, were asked for their views of the service and these were valued and acted on. There was a quality assurance system in place, as a result the quality of the service continued to improve.