Background to this inspection
Updated
17 March 2018
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 inspection took place on 13 February 2018 and was announced.
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. We visited the office location on 13 February 2018 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. Telephone contact was made to three relatives and three people using the service on 14 and 15 February 2018. The inspection was completed by one inspector.
We spoke with two people who used the service, three relatives, four support staff and the registered manager. We looked at four people’s care records, three staff recruitment files, quality assurance records, complaints, compliments, staff training records and accident and incident records.
We looked at the Provider Information Record (PIR) before the inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, this tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern.
We looked at other information we held about the provider and the service. This included information received from the statutory notifications the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We used this information to help us plan this inspection.
Updated
17 March 2018
The inspection took place on 13 February 2018 was announced and conducted by one inspector who visited the provider’s administration office. Community Support Service is registered to provide personal care to people living with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 38 people were in receipt of care from the provider. 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 care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.” Registering the Right Support CQC policy.
People who used the service were safe as the provider, registered manager and staff had a clear understanding of the risk associated with people’s needs as well as activities people chose to do. There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff, who had a good understanding of protecting people from the risk of abuse and harm and their responsibilities to report suspected abuse. Medicines were administered by staff that had received training to do this. The provider had procedures in place to check that people received their medicines as prescribed to effectively and safely meet their health needs.
Staff had been recruited following appropriate checks on their suitability to support people in their homes and keep them safe. The provider had arrangements in place to make sure that there were sufficient staff to provide support to people in their own homes and when going out in the community. People told us they received reliable care from a regular team of staff who understood their likes, dislikes and preferences for care and support.
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. Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and its relation to protecting people who used the service from unlawful restrictions. Records confirmed consent was sought for a variety of decisions in relation to the care people received. This confirmed people who used the service or their relatives had been consulted about and agreed to the care they received.
People told us that they were happy with the way in which staff supported them with cooking their meals, learning about different foods to keep them healthy and in accessing health and social care services when they needed them.
People who used the service, their relatives described the care people received as meeting people’s needs in a positive way. Staff were caring and showed commitment to the people they supported. People felt they mattered to staff and were involved in every aspect of their lives.
People’s needs were assessed and staff understood these needs and responded appropriately when people’s needs changed. People’s interests and preferences were documented and they were encouraged to pursue social events and areas of interests. Social inclusion was an important priority for people and the staff who supported them.
People were encouraged to share their opinions about the quality of the service through telephone conversations, visits with the management team and regular satisfaction questionnaires.
The provider and the registered manager had a clear vision for the service that was shared by the staff team. This vision was about complete inclusion and involvement of people and staff in shaping their lives and the service.
Leadership of the service at all levels was open and transparent and supported a positive culture.