Bradford Regional Office

Updated 5 September 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 an inspector and an Expert by Experiences. 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 a number of 'supported living' settings, so 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 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 or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 23 May and ended on 27 June 2023. We visited the office on 23 May and visited some people in their homes on 27 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service. We contacted safeguarding and commissioning teams for 2 local authorities for their feedback. 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

During the inspection we visited and spoke with 7 people who used the service. We spoke with 9 staff including, the registered manager, service managers, support staff and members of the provider’s quality assurance team. We checked a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff records. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us. This included staffing and training information, and provider quality assurance records. We also spoke with 2 family members by phone, to gain their views of the service.

Updated 5 September 2023

About the service

Bradford Regional Office is a supported living service registered to provide personal care for younger and older adults with learning disabilities, and/or autistic people, people with mental health needs, physical disability and sensory impairment in the Leeds and Bradford areas.

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.

At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 7 people who required assistance with their personal care.

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

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.

Right Support.

People told us they were happy with the care and support they received. People’s needs were assessed, and care plans were developed with the input of people and their relatives. Processes were in place to safeguard people from abuse. Risks to people’s safety were considered and people were supported to understand how they could keep themselves safe. 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

People were supported by staff that knew them well and who were committed to providing person centred care. People were supported to lead lifestyles of their choosing. People's communication needs were assessed, and people were supported to use various communication tools to assist in their engagement with others. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff could meet their needs and wishes. People were supported to maintain good health, were supported with their medicines and access to healthcare services, when needed.

Right Culture.

Staff demonstrated their commitment to the values of the service that put people at the centre of the care and support provided. There was an inclusive culture. People felt consulted because the care team listened and responded to people's views. The management team worked together to oversee the care people received. Regular checks and audits were carried out to make sure the service was safe and best practice was promoted. The service had worked with community health and social care professionals to ensure people's needs were met.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 9 June 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management and governance of the service, the management of risk, care planning and positive behaviour support, medicines, record keeping. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We found there was no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns, as the provider had addressed the identified shortfalls. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report. The overall rating for the service remains 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 Bradford Regional Office on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

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