Solo Support Services Ltd

Updated 9 November 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team included one inspector, and one assistant inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses, flats and specialist housing.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Before an inspection takes place, we gather information known about the service. We had received notifications from the service and these were reviewed. Notifications are information about specific events that happen at the service, and the responsible person is required to send these by law.

We asked the provider to submit a Provider Information Return (PIR) and they did this. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection, we requested feedback from the NHS clinical commissioning group and professionals who have worked with the service. The feedback received was positive.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the office visit on 18 September 2019, we considered the care records of nine people who used the service. We also looked at three staff recruitment files and other records relating to the management of the service. This included audits, policies and incident records. We spoke to nine care staff and the registered manager about the service.

Between the 20 September and 10 October, the assistant inspector phoned people who used the service. The inspector spoke to three people, and three relatives. These people gave their views about the service they received

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 9 November 2019

About the service

Solo Support Services ltd is a domiciliary care agency. The care agency provides personal care and support to people living within the community. At the time of the inspection, there were 68 people receiving support with personal care. The service mostly supported people with complex health needs. Due to their high health needs, these people generally had a Continuing Health Care Budget in order to pay for this support. The majority of people using the service, required one or more care staff at any time.

People’s experience of using the service

People told us they felt safe, where allegations of abuse had occurred the service had responded appropriately to ensure people were safe. Care plans and risk assessments guided staff to support people’s complex health needs safely. Medicines were managed safely and complex medicine regimes had clear guidance in place for staff. The service followed good infection control procedures.

The majority of people at the service had staff support at all times. These staff teams were recruited to meet people’s individual needs, including the recruitment of family members if needed. Safe recruitment procedures were followed to ensure suitable staff were employed. Once employed, a thorough induction and training programme ensured staff were well skilled to support people’s individual and complex needs.

The service was effective in the way it supported people. People were supported in line with evidence based guidance to ensure their needs were met effectively. People were supported to have a balanced and healthy diet. Professional guidance was sought if people were at risk of weight loss or choking.

Staff worked collaboratively within the staff team, and with outside health and social care professionals. This ensured people received effective multi-agency support.

Decision specific mental capacity assessments were not always in place. This meant people may not be supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, or that staff would support them in the least restrictive way possible. We recommended that the policies and systems in the service were reviewed to ensure mental capacity documentation was in place as required.

People and relatives told us staff were caring. Staff spoke compassionately about people. Reviews included people, to ensure that people’s preferences were followed. The service followed the Equality Act (2010), by ensuring people’s diverse needs were recognised and supported.

Care was personalised to people’s preferences. The service used health budgets to support people to recruit staff of their choosing, the budget was then used to plan a suitable care package that met their needs. People’s communication needs were recognised in line with the Accessible Information Standard (2016). People were supported to access social activities of their choosing. Where people came to the end of their life, care plans guided safe end of life care that met the person’s preferences.

The service was well led. Staff spoke positively of the management approach and leadership. Feedback from people and relatives using the service was all positive, and this was supported by questionnaire results that the service had sent out. The service had a unique approach to supporting people, by supporting people to manage their personal health budgets. This provided people with a flexible service which met their health and social needs. The service had not always notified the CQC about events that had happened at the service, but records showed the service has managed these events safely.

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 7 April 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.