Ambito Community Services Brighton

Updated 18 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector visited the office to look at records and speak to staff. An expert by experience spoke with relatives by telephone. 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:

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 visit because it is small. We needed to be sure staff would be in. We visited the office location on 24 April 2019 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection: We reviewed information available to us about this service. We checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send to us by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we looked at:

• Two staff files

• Two people’s care records and medicine records. This included ‘pathway tracking’ people. This is when we check that the care detailed in individual plans matches the experience of the person receiving care. We carried this out for two people. It is an important part of our inspection, as it allows us to capture information about a sample of people receiving care.

• Audits and quality assurance reports

• Minutes of meetings with staff

• Other documents relating to the management of the service.

During the inspection we spoke to:

• Due to the nature of people’s complex needs, we were not able to ask people direct questions, so we spoke to their relatives by telephone.

• Five members of staff: (Two support workers, a team leader, the Registered Manager and the Area Manager)

After the inspection, we received feedback from the manager of a housing trust, they agreed to be quoted in this report.

Updated 18 May 2019

About the service: Ambito Community Services Brighton provides personal care at home. At the time of the inspection two people were receiving personal care. People using the service were living with a learning disability and/or autism and had other complex needs such as communication needs and sensory impairment.

People’s experience of using this service: Relatives we spoke with were positive about the standard of care and about staff that delivered the service. A relative told us, “It’s the best service that I as a parent could wish for.” Another relative said to us, “I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them – they’re a welcome part of our lives.”

Staff completed training that was driven by the needs of the people and were experienced in their roles to provide effective care to people. Relatives told us they felt confident in the experience and knowledge of staff, a relative said to us, “‘It takes a special kind of person – this isn’t just a job that needs doing, it’s a person with very complicated issues and they get that.” Staff received regular supervisions and an annual appraisal.

People were kept safe and were supported by staff who were trained to recognise the signs of any potential abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding and knew what action to take if they had any concerns about people’s safety or welfare. People’s risks were identified and assessed appropriately.

The provider’s quality assurance team and the area manager carried out audits which the registered manager used to improve the service. The registered manager and senior staff also monitored the quality of care and the service.

People were consistently supported by staff they knew well. A relative told us, “It’s so good to have people that respect our home and are happy to have a relationship with me and family as well. There are no divisions – we are all part of life."

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and spend time with people. This enabled people to engage with activities, access the community and to live their lives as independently as possible. People were supported by staff whose suitability was checked through a robust recruitment process.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Relatives told us they were able to feedback about the service by talking to the registered manager.

People received personalised care that was tailored to meet their individual needs, preferences and choices. Care plans were detailed and guided staff about people’s needs and how to meet them. Staff supported people to make choices and to live as independently as possible. No complaints had been received at the time of the inspection. No-one required end of life care at the time of the inspection.

This service met the characteristics of Good. More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection of Ambito Community Services Brighton since it was registered, after the provider changed, by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 4 May 2018. New services are assessed to check they are likely to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led when registering.

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection that was scheduled to take place in line with Care Quality Commission (CQC) scheduling guidelines for adult social care services.

Follow up: We will review the service in line with our methodology for 'Good' services.

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