Archived: Three C's Support

Updated 9 July 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:

This announced inspection took place on 12 February 2019 and carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who is living with a learning disability and has mental health needs.

Service and service type:

Three C’s Support provides care and support to young people and adults who are living with a learning disability and have mental health needs. At the time of this inspection, 131 people were using the service. Not everyone using Three C’s 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.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them

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 medium sized and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in. Inspection site visit activity started and ended on 12 February 2019. We visited the office location on 12 February 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records, policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we looked at information about the service we held, including notifications. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection:

¿We spoke with 12 people who used the service.

¿We also spoke with the registered manager and four members of staff, including the social inclusion and volunteers manager and the job coach.

¿We looked at 15 care records and medicine administration records (MAR) for five people.

¿We also looked at 15 staff records and other documents relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection:

We received feedback from 11 support workers and two health and social care professionals.

Updated 9 July 2019

About the service:

Three C's Support provides care and support to young people and adults who are living with a learning disability and have mental health needs. At the time of this inspection, 131 people were using the service.

People's experience of using this service:

Each person had their care and support needs assessed. People and their relatives were involved in their assessments and their views were considered during the process. Individual care and support plans were developed which captured the support people required to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People participated in activities of their choice. People were supported to continue their education and supported to find paid and voluntary employment.

People were free to explore and talk about their individual needs including their cultural, gender and sexual identities.

There were systems in place to ensure people were kept safe and protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff had gained knowledge of the types of abuse through safeguarding training.

Risks to people's health and wellbeing were assessed and a plan put in place to manage each potential risk.

Medicines were administered by staff to help manage people’s health care needs. Staff used medicine administration records (MARs) to record when people had their prescribed medicines. The MARs were audited for their accuracy.

The registered manager followed the provider’s recruitment processes which included the return of pre-employment checks. This ensured suitable staff were employed to support people.

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

People and their relatives were happy about the care and support they received. They also said the management of the service was of a good standard.

People commented that staff were supportive, showed them kindness, were caring and thoughtful in their approach with them.

People and their relatives contributed to their initial care plan and the review of their care.

The registered manager ensured people received a good standard of care through regular reviews and monitoring of the quality of the service.

Rating at last inspection: This is the first inspection of this service since the change of location in February 2018.

Why we inspected: This was a planned scheduled inspection. At this inspection we found the service was rated Good.

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

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