Background to this inspection
Updated
21 June 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
This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.
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.
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 not a registered manager in post .
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 24 May 2023 and ended on 25 May 2023 We visited the location’s office on 24 May 2023, as well as visiting two supported living locations. We made phone calls and emails to relatives and staff members on the 25th May 2023.
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 met and spoke with 2 people who were using the service. We spoke on the phone to 2 relatives of people who used the service. We spoke with 5 staff members, and the area manager. We looked at 3 people’s care plans and risk assessments. We also looked at other documentation such as staff recruitment files, audits, and medicines records.
Updated
21 June 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
Autism Care Community Services (Milton Keynes) is a supported living service providing personal care to 4 people at the time of the inspection. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
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.
People received care and support to maintain an environment that suited their needs and preferences.
Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. People were
supported to carry out their daily living activities and pursue their hobbies and interests.
Staff supported people with their medicines safely and in their preferred way.
Right Care:
People received care that was person-centred, and dignity, privacy and human rights were promoted.
Staff communicated with people in ways that met their individual needs.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service employed skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe.
People's care plans reflected their needs and wishes and promoted their wellbeing. Risks that people may face were appropriately managed.
Right Culture:
The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff team ensured people lead empowered lives.
People received good care and support because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes.
People and those important to them, including social care professionals, were involved in planning their care. The management and the staff team ensured people received support based on best practice, respect and inclusivity.
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 requires improvement (18 March 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Caring, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Autism Care Community Services (Milton Keynes) 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.