Background to this inspection
Updated
7 March 2020
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 was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in two ‘supported living’ setting[s], 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 72 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.
What we did before the inspection
We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with two relatives of people who used the service to obtain their views on the care people received. We spoke with two members of staff, the nominated individual, the registered manager, the administrator and a director. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records, medication records, a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits records, minutes of meetings and the staff training matrix. We also looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment.
After the inspection
We spoke with three members of staff by telephone. We also contacted one health professional for feedback.
Updated
7 March 2020
About the service
Comfort Homes and Care Ltd provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. Care is provided in two separate houses with ‘multi-occupation’. At the time of the inspection four people were receiving personal care and support.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received individualised care and support from regular staff that demonstrated detailed knowledge of people’s individual needs.
Staff had received training in how to keep people safe and knew the actions they would take to keep them safe from harm. People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff followed infection control guidance and had access to personal protective equipment.
The provider had a recruitment process to ensure they had employed suitable staff to support people safely.
People’s nutritional needs were met, and people were supported to enjoy a choice of meals. People were encouraged to work with staff on meal preparation and household chores to maintain and develop their independence. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when required.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People's privacy and dignity were respected by staff and their independence was encouraged.
People's support needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure they received the support they needed. Relatives told us they had not needed to make a complaint but knew how to and would feel comfortable doing so should they need to.
The management team completed regular checks and audits to the monitor the quality of the service. Quality reviews were carried out to gather information about people’s views. Spot checks were also completed to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.
Relatives and staff said the service was well managed and staff said they felt well supported to provider person centred care.
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 26/02/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.