DALO

Updated 26 January 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in supported living settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The provider has made an application to add accommodation to their service type to correctly reflect the service they provide. This will be looked at when the service is next inspected.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service a short period notice of the inspection. we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 16 December and ended on 22 December 2022. We visited the location’s office 19 December 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the 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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and 3 support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed. After the inspection visit, we spoke to 7 relatives of people who used the service.

Updated 26 January 2023

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.

About the service

DALO provides respite and holidays to young people with a learning disability . The respite service is provided at two properties in Hertfordshire that are owned and maintained by the provider. The service forms part of DALO Travel Limited who provide day opportunities and transport to support young people who are vulnerable to continue to develop their independent living skills after compulsory education. At the time of our inspection there were 33 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support

People's needs, preferences and wishes were met by a dedicated care staff team who knew the people they cared for well. People were supported in a way which promoted safety. Risk assessments were in place and reflected people's current needs.

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.

Right Care

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had received training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and staff knew people's needs well. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Safe recruitment processes were followed. People received their medicines as prescribed and medicines were managed safely. Staff understood people's different communication support needs. Staff demonstrated an awareness and understanding of people's needs. Staff ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected and their independence promoted.

Right Culture

People and those important to them were involved in planning their care and managers evaluated the quality of care provided to people. The registered manager and staff promoted a caring culture, where providing person centred care was the focus of the service. Staff turnover was low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. People were asked to provide feedback on the care provided and they had confidence in the registered manager to deal with concerns appropriately. Care staff felt supported in their roles and were provided with the opportunity to discuss any issues which they may have in an open and inclusive way.

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 30 November 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for DALO on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.