24 June 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
Dolphin Homes Ltd Supported Living Services Office is a supported living service providing personal care to people with a learning disability and or autistic people in their own houses and flats. At the time of inspection there were ten people using the service in six separate supported living settings. Some people lived on their own, whilst other people lived in shared accommodation. People received a variable number of care hours per week, depending on their assessed needs.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
We found that not all staff had completed the appropriate training for their roles and in how to deal with incidents involving people becoming challenging to them. There was not a robust effective system in place to ensure that the provider employed people who were suitably qualified, competent and experienced. This placed people at risk of receiving inappropriate or unsafe care.
People had choice and control around their care arrangements. Care focussed on people’s abilities and promoted their independence.
People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them and care was
arranged so people could access the services and activities which they wished. People's care plans identified how they would like to be supported and what they would like to achieve with the help of care and support.
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.
Right Care
We identified concerns around recording of medication administration and training records. We found no evidence that people had been harmed, however, there were failures to record, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service, and failure to maintain accurate records
Staff were respectful of people’s dignity, privacy and treated them as individuals with their own beliefs, thoughts and aspirations.
People told us they were happy with their care. People or their relatives felt comfortable in raising issues or concerns. There were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from abuse. However, not all staff we spoke to knew how to access the policies on safeguarding or whistleblowing. The provider had an open and transparent approach where people, relatives and professionals were kept informed about key events related to care.
Right Culture
Although we found oversight issues around governance and training, from our observation of the registered manager and their staff with people supported, the provider’s management displayed caring and person-centred values . They modelled this behaviour to staff and set expectations that these values should be integral to staff’s working practice.
People were supported and treated with dignity and respect. Staff used accessible ways to communicate with people personalised to meet their needs. Relatives said that staff listened to what they had to say and worked with them to communicate appropriately with people and in a way people could understand.
The provider worked well with external stakeholders to meet people’s changing needs and ensure people had smooth transitions when moving between different services.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 20 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to staff not receiving the required training and the provider not keeping accurate and accessible records.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.