Rotherham Regional Office

The inspection took place on 13 and 28 September 2017 with the provider being given short notice of the visit to the office in line with our current methodology for inspecting community services. The service was previously inspected in April 2015 when no breaches of legal requirements were identified and the service was given a rating of ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for “Rotherham Regional Office” on our website at www.cqc.org.uk’.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. However, the current registered manager had been promoted within the company and an acting manager had been recruited in June 2017. They told us they would be applying to register with CQC in the near future.

At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service who received personal care. We spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service and the parents of five people. When we asked them about their experiences of using the service they told us they were happy with the support staff provided, and overall were satisfied with how the service operated.

Systems were in place to keep people safe while maintaining their independence, People told us staff helped to make sure the environment was safe for people to live in, and supported them to access the community safely.

People’s needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and where possible they, and the relatives, had been involved in formulating their support plans. Care records identified people’s needs and preferences, as well as any risks associated with their care. Changes in their needs had been identified, and support plans amended to meet any changing needs or circumstances.

Where people needed assistance taking their medication this was administered in a timely way by staff who had been trained to carry out this role.

The service employed enough staff to meet the needs of people being supported. However, changes at the service had led to some staff being moved to different locations on a permanent or temporary basis to ensure the correct skill mix was available at each property. One parent told us they had raised this with staff as a concern. Managers told us the disruption had been kept to a minimum, but they would take into account people’s comments.

Robust recruitment procedures ensured the right staff were employed to meet people’s needs safely. Staff received training to administer medications safely both in their own homes and in the residential care home. New staff had completed a structured induction when they joined the service, followed by various specialist and refresher training.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Information about how to raise concerns was available, including in a pictorial [easy to read and understand] format. Complaints had been appropriately addressed and the majority of people told us they were confident that any concerns they raised would be dealt with swiftly.

The registered manager and the acting manager had a clear oversight of the service, and of the people who used it. People were encouraged to share their views about the quality of the care provided, to help drive up standards and influence change. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor how the service operated and identify areas for improvement. This also gave the service an opportunity to learn from events and improve the service for people.

People who used the service had a care plan which was person centred and relevant to their individual needs. We spoke with nine people who used the service, and five staff. One person who used the service said, "I get on really well with the staff, they are lovely.' Another person said, 'I do what I want and the staff support me well.'

People were supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. People we spoke with said the food was really nice and they enjoyed helping to prepare it. People sat together once a week to decide what they would eat the following week.

People were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment. The staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about infect ion control.

We found that the provider had an effective recruitment procedure in place. Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work.

The provider had an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

There was an effective complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if needed. People we spoke with said they never had to complain, but they felt staff would listen to them and act on any concern they had.