Archived: Community Support Services, Brightways

Updated 19 August 2016

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 23 June 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours notice because the location provides domiciliary care, therefore we needed to be sure that someone would be available when we visited.

Community Support Services, Brightways is a domiciliary care agency that offers personal care to people in their own homes. On the day of our inspection the service was supporting thirteen people, twelve of whom lived at one location.

During our inspection we spoke with the six people who used the service, one relative, nine care staff, one social worker, the registered manager and the adult social care service manager.

We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We therefore reviewed the completed Provider Information Return (PIR). We also reviewed the information we held about the service to see how the provider was working with other agencies and also with Care Quality Commission.

We reviewed four staff recruitment files, three care plans, staff training records, medication administration records and documentation relating to audits that monitored the quality of the service plus health and safety documents.

Updated 19 August 2016

This inspection took place on 23 June 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides domiciliary care, therefore we needed to be sure that someone would be available when we visited.

Community Support Services, Brightways is a domiciliary care agency that offers personal care to people in their own homes. On the day of our inspection the service was supporting thirteen people, twelve of whom lived at one location.

The service had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us that they felt safe in their own home. They also said that staff knew the things that they liked and always offered people choices.

The registered manager had assessed the risks associated with providing support and care in a home environment.

Staff had undergone relevant employment checks. They also understood how to keep people safe and report any concerns if needed.

People received their medications as prescribed and records relating to peoples medications were accurately completed.

Staff had received training and supervision to meet the needs of the people who used the service. Staff told us that they felt supported by senior staff and by the manager. Their competencies to undertake their specific work role was regularly assessed.

People had the capacity to make decisions about their care and the support they received. These people were involved the reviews of their support plans. The service did follow the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing. People’s health needs were met and when necessary, outside health professionals were contacted for support. People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and a nutritional menu of food was encouraged.

People were treated with kindness and respect. People’s independence was promoted and staff encouraged people to make their own choices. Staff knew people well and treated them with kindness and compassion. People received a consistent level of support.

The registered manager had assessed the care needs of people who used the service. Staff had a clear understanding of their role and how to support people as individuals. People were involved in the planning of their care and their feedback was sought.

Staff felt supported by the manager. They were clear on their role and the expectation on them. Staff felt able to speak to the manager about any subject and assured us that they were listened to and any issues were addressed if needed.

People who used the service told us that they knew how to make a complaint if they felt that they needed to. The registered manager had taken action to address concerns.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service that was provided. There were effective systems for identifying areas of concern and also information that supported the development of the service.