Creative Support - Wellingborough Services

Updated 7 September 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 31 July and 2 August and was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that senior staff would be at the office and information would be made available for us to inspect.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we reviewed information that we held about the service such as notifications. These detail events which happened at the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We also contacted the Local Authority for any information they held on the service.

We spoke with one person who used the service, two relatives of people that used the service two care workers, the administrator, and the area manager. The registered manager was not available on the day of our inspection. We reviewed six peoples care records to ensure they were reflective of their needs, five staff files, and other documents relating to the management of the service such as training records and audits.

Updated 7 September 2018

This inspection took place on 31 July and 2 August and was announced.

Delos - Pyramid Wellingborough (Creative Support) provides care and support to 43 people with learning disabilities. Some people lived in a supported living setting, and some people lived in their own homes, 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.

Not everyone using Delos - Pyramid Wellingborough (Creative Support) receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection, 6 people were receiving personal care from the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Risk assessments were in place to manage the risks associated with people’s care. These included assessments to support people in a range of environments. Behaviour support plans made sure that people who may display complex behaviours were supported to remain safe.

People told us they felt safe, and staff had an understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse. All the staff we spoke with were confident that any concerns they raised would be followed up appropriately by their manager.

Staffing levels were adequate to meet people's current needs. Agency staff were used on occasion to cover shifts.

The staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service. References and security checks were carried out as required.

Staff attended induction training where they completed mandatory training courses and were able to shadow more experienced staff giving care. All new staff were taking part in the Care Certificate which teaches the fundamental standards within care. Ongoing training was offered to staff and mandatory areas of training were kept up to date.

Staff supported people with the administration of medicines, and were trained to do so. The people we spoke with were happy with the support they received.

Staff were trained in infection control, and told us they had the appropriate personal protective equipment to perform their roles safely. We saw that staff had reported any concerns they had around infection control within people’s homes to management, who had then acted appropriately.

Staff were well supported by the manager and senior team, and had one to one meet ups, spot checks and observations.

People's consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met. Consent forms were signed and within people’s files.

People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this, and people could be supported to access health appointments when necessary.

Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. People told us they were happy with the way that staff spoke to them, and provided their care in a respectful and dignified manner.

People were involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported. Care planning was personalised and mentioned people’s likes and dislikes, so that staff understood their needs fully. People told us they felt in control of their care and were listened to by staff.

The service had a complaints procedure in place to ensure that people and their families were able to provide feedback about their care and to help the service make improvements where required.

The people we spoke with knew how to use it.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were used effectively to drive future improvement and identify where action was needed.

The service worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure quality of care across all levels. Communication was open and honest, and improvements were highlighted and worked upon as required.