We carried out a review of the data available to us about Orbis Support Offices on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Orbis Support Offices, you can give feedback on this service.
Orbis Support Offices is a supported living service. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people living in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
People received outstanding care and support from staff who were highly motivated, compassionate, and dedicated to ensuring people lived their best lives. 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. Risks in relation to people’s care and support were exceptionally well managed to assist people to live their lives as they chose, and to access opportunities which previously had not been available to them.
Staff knew people remarkably well and this supported them to understand how to maintain and improve people’s independence ensuring they lived a meaningful and varied life. Each person was allocated their own staff team which ensured they were supported by staff who knew them exceptionally well and who provided a consistent high standard of care and support. There were enough staff to meet people’s identified hours of support, and this supported people to be able to access activities both socially and within their home. Robust infection control measures were in place, people were supported by staff to keep their home safe and clean. Medicines were managed safely.
Right Care:
People received excellent care and support from a dedicated staff team who knew people’s needs exceptionally well. Staff were passionate about achieving the best outcomes for people to support them to live the life they wished.
The provider had a truly holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and support. They worked with other health and social care professionals to support the delivery of high-quality support and care. A health care professional told us how they had been “Impressed” by the support a person had received during a difficult transition from hospital.”
Right Culture:
There was an extraordinary empowering and positive culture with staff putting people at the centre of everything they did. People lived inclusive lives and were supported to take part in meaningful activities within their local communities. People’s homes were no different to other homes in their street. Staff very much saw themselves as guests in people’s homes. The staff team were extremely focused on providing person centred care that was responsive to people’s changing needs.
The leadership and the management of the service was outstanding. There was a strong emphasis on continuously improving the service to support people to receive the highest standard of care. Training opportunities for staff were excellent with bespoke training in place to support the needs of the people using the service. Staff were highly valued by the provider and registered manager. Staff were extremely complimentary about the support they received from the provider and managers.
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 Outstanding (published 23 March 2020).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Orbis Support Offices is a supported living service providing support to people with a learning disability or autism living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received support with personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care support. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection, the service provided personal care support to 14 people.
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 care and support from a service which was exceptionally well-led. The provider and registered manager delivered strong and supportive leadership. The management team promoted and ensured the values of the service were embedded within the culture of how staff interacted with people. The whole staff team were committed to ensuring people received high-quality person-centred care.
Robust audits were completed to monitor and review the quality of the service. A strong importance was placed on continuous learning to improve the outcomes for people. Accidents and incidents were robustly reviewed to identify if any themes or trends were evident.
Feedback from relatives, staff and professionals spoke of the outstanding delivery of care people received. A holistic approach to assessing and delivering care was in place. Staff were exceptionally responsive to people needs and delivered care which achieved excellent outcomes for them. Staff provided individualised care and support to people and were passionate about ensuring people achieved their desired outcomes and met their goals. One relative said, “The staff at Orbis know [name of person] so well and are so well prepared. They are very happy to involve other organisations such as the community learning disability team and are very proactive at putting in place any suggestions the professionals make. They are very proactive rather than reactive.”
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. 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.
People received care and support from staff who were very well trained and supported by the registered manager and provider. Staff received bespoke training which reflected the needs of individual people and systems were in place to support staff with any educational assistance they required.
Staff were kind and caring and always promoted the privacy and dignity of people. Staff encouraged people to be as independent as they could be and people or their representative were involved in decisions about their care.
Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place and staff were confident in the actions to take if any type of abuse was suspected. Staffing was determined based on the individual needs of people. Staff were recruited safely and risk assessments were in place for people and the environment. Measures were identified to mitigate known risks people were exposed to.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 31 May 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Orbis Support Offices provides personal care and support to people with learning disabilities, who live in their own homes, either alone or with family, or in shared houses with support. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing personal care to two people and another two people's care services were due to start in the near future.
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.
We found the service had taken steps when providing care to protect people from avoidable harm and safeguard them from abuse. Risks to personal safety were carefully assessed and managed to ensure people received safe care and support.
New staff were checked and vetted before they started working with people and sufficient staff were employed. Each person had a dedicated staff team that enabled them to be provided with reliable and consistent support. Staff were appropriately trained and supervised in their roles, equipping them to meet people’s needs effectively.
Suitable arrangements had been made for the safe handling of medicines. Where applicable, people were supported to receive health care services and advice about care and treatment from health professionals was acted on. Assistance was given, when required, with meeting dietary needs and supporting people with eating and drinking.
The implications of mental capacity law in upholding people’s rights to make decisions were understood. People and their families directed and agreed the way their care was provided, including contributing to care planning and choosing their own support staff.
People’s care was planned and delivered using a person-centred approach. Care plans were tailored to the individual’s needs and preferences, including a focus on leisure time and accessing the community. There were good communication systems and no complaints had been made about the service.
The management and staff had formed caring and supportive relationships with people and their families. Staff treated people as individuals with diverse needs and respected their privacy and dignity. People were given support that empowered them to make choices in their daily lives.
The provider and registered manager were skilled, experienced and provided robust leadership for the staff. They promoted an open culture and worked inclusively with people, their families and the staff in seeking their views which influenced the service. Standards were actively monitored and further developments were planned to continue to improve the quality of the service that people received.