WMHC Ltd

Updated 2 March 2024

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

The inspection was completed by 2 inspectors. The first visit to the location's office was conducted by 1 inspector, and 2 inspectors carried out the second visit.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency and supported living service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and at 2 shared supported living houses.

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 24 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 19 January 2024 and ended on 16 February 2024. We visited the location’s office on 19 and 26 January 2024.

What we did before the inspection

We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch on the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

During our visits to the location’s office, we spoke with the nominated individual (who is also the registered manager and director), business development manager, care coordinator, one person who uses the service and 3 care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also reviewed a range of records, including 6 people’s care records, medicines records, 3 staff members’ recruitment records, selected policies and procedures and records associated with the management of the service.

Following or in between visits to the location's office, we spoke with 3 people who used the service, and received written feedback from a further person. We also spoke with 2 relatives, 3 care staff and 5 health and social care professionals. We also reviewed additional information provided by the management team.

Updated 2 March 2024

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

WMHC Ltd is a domiciliary care service and supported living service providing personal care to younger adults and older people in their own homes. The service delivered personal care at 2 supported living schemes, which were shared houses. The service supports people with learning disabilities, autism, dementia, mental health needs and sensory impairments. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people using the service.

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

Right Support:

Staff understood and promoted people’s choice, control and independence. People were encouraged and supported to maintain valued relationships and to be part of their local community. Staff understood and respected people’s right to make their own decisions.

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’s individual needs and risks were assessed; however, written guidance for staff on how to manage risks was not always clear or sufficient. People had support from trained staff to take their medicines safely, but written guidance on the use of ‘as required’ (PRN) medicines was not always clear. The person-centred care and support provided had resulted in positive outcomes for people. People had support to book and attend medical appointments, as needed. Staff and management worked effectively with other agencies involved in people’s care. Staff spoke positively about the induction, training and ongoing support they received from management.

Right Culture:

Management and staff promoted a positive and inclusive culture within the service. People, their relatives and relevant health and social care professionals were involved in care reviews. The provider proactively sought people’s views on the service, in order to improve their care and support. The management team were well regarded by people, their relatives, staff and community professionals involved in people’s care.

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 10 May 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

This was a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. 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 remained good based on the findings of this inspection. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘All inspection reports and timeline’ link for WMHC Ltd 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.