We carried out a review of the data available to us about HF Trust Bedfordshire on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about HF Trust Bedfordshire, you can give feedback on this service.
HF Trust Clifton Court DCA is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to two people with learning disabilities within a supported living scheme at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to nine people.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported to keep in touch with their relatives and maintain relationships, however communication with their relatives about important events in people’s lives and financial management was not always happening. This was an area being developed by the manager. People were also able to access local community facilities to avoid social isolation.
People were supported in ways they preferred and had positive, trusting relationships with staff. They were supported by staff who were caring and who knew them well, showed them respect and promoted their dignity. Enough staff supported people to meet their assessed needs.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible to gain new skills and become more independent.
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.
People were safe as staff understood how to protect people from harm and were confident reporting any concerns. The manager ensured risks were assessed and support plans gave staff clear guidance about the care and support people needed and how they preferred this delivered.
People had their medicines administered safely and staff understood how to protect people from the spread of infection and promote health living. People had regular access to various health and social care professionals when they needed them.
People were supported by staff who were motivated and empowered to provide good quality care by a manager who developed their skills, confidence and understanding of their roles.
We have made recommendations about inclusive care planning and reviews of care, effective quality assurance systems at provider level and effective, open management of people’s finances.
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 requires improvement (published 12 April 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines and safe care and treatment. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.
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.
People’s experience of using this service:
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
Staff knew their responsibilities of reporting any concerns to their seniors so that safeguarding referrals could be made to safeguarding authorities if needed and keep people safe.
People felt comfortable in staff`s presence and the way they smiled and interacted with staff demonstrated that they were happy with the support they received. However, people`s mental capacity had not been assessed following the Mental Capacity Act 2005 principles.
People had care plans which identified what support needs people had as well as described risks to people`s well-being. Care plans and risk assessments needed further developing to ensure staff had proper guidance in place to keep people safe.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. Staff supported people to regularly access the community and pursue hobbies and interests.
People were encouraged to get involved in activities of daily living around the house, like cleaning, preparing meals and laundry. People were encouraged to have a healthy diet.
There were enough staff to meet people`s needs safely and effectively. The service used agency staff to cover for existing permanent staff vacancies and relatives told us this was not always good for people who were not familiar with agency staff. Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff working at the service were suitable to do so.
Staff told us they received training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities, however staff had not had regular one to one supervision meetings with their line manager to ensure their performance was regularly reviewed.
The provider`s governance systems were not always fully utilised to ensure that where improvements were needed these were promptly found and improvement actions were not always taken in a prompt way. The provider had identified this and they were working to improve the use of their governance systems across the service.
The registered manager was absent and the service was managed by a manager from another location owned by the provider. They were supported by the regional manager and there were plans for them to be permanently based at the service. The management team were passionate about providing people with personalised care and support and were working with staff to improve the overall quality of the service.
Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 21 April 2016).
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. During this inspection we found evidence that means the rating of the service has changed to requires improvement. More information is in the full report.
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
Clifton Court provides personal care and support for up to nine people with a learning disability within a supported living scheme. The scheme consists of six flats and shares an office and a communal area with a small residential service at the same address. At the time of the inspection there were eight people who were supported by the service. Three people lived in one flat and five people were living on their own.
The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were safe and the provider had effective systems in place to protect them from harm. Medicines were administered safely and people were supported to access other healthcare professionals to maintain their health and well-being. They were supported effectively and encouraged to be as independent as possible. They were assisted to maintain their interests and hobbies and to develop new skills. They were aware of the provider’s complaints system and information about this and other aspects of the service was available in an easy read format. People were encouraged to contribute to the development of the service and to develop links with the local community.
Staff were well trained. They understood and complied with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They were supported by way of regular supervision and appraisal. They were caring and promoted people’s privacy and dignity. Staff were encouraged to contribute to the development of the service, aware of their roles and responsibilities and understood the provider’s visions and values.
There were effective complaints and quality assurance systems in place.