WHC Offices

Updated 5 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in three ‘supported living’ settings, 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 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.

Inspection activity started on 23 February and ended on 4 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 23 February 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager, nominated individual and three care staff. We also spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We looked at a range of documents and written records including two people's care records, one staff recruitment record and information relating to staff training and the auditing and monitoring of service provision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We continued to look at records the registered manager shared with us, and responses from health and social care professionals.

Updated 5 May 2022

About the service

WHC Offices is registered to provide a supported living service for people with a learning disability, autistic people, people with eating disorders, younger adults and people living with mental ill health. At the time of this inspection three people received personal care from WHC Offices.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

People and relatives told us how they or their family member could choose how they wanted to live and had the support they needed to do this. Staff encouraged people's choice and independence. 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:

People, relatives, health and social care representatives told us staff were caring and always treated people with respect and empathy. People told us staff knew how to meet their needs, were kind, respectful and well trained. Staff had developed positive relationships with people.

Right culture:

Staff were proud of the support that they provided to people and the positive outcomes that they had observed. The service had an ethos of providing person-centred care to encourage people to lead independent lives.

People using the service were safe. Staff understood how to identify and report abuse. Recruitment practices ensured the right staff were recruited to support people to stay safe. Staff felt well supported and had regular opportunities to discuss their work. Staffing arrangements were flexible to meet people’s needs. People received care from staff on a one to one basis and records showed that people received their care in the way they needed to maintain their safety.

People were supported safely with their medicines. Staff completed medicines administration records (MAR) after giving people their medicines. MAR sheets were audited to ensure people had received their medicines as prescribed.

Care plans and risk assessments were developed from the initial assessment of people's needs. Care plans were comprehensive, individualised and developed with each person. They described the support the person needed to manage their day to day health needs. Risks to people were identified and guidance and control measures were in place to enable staff to support people safely.

People's health and well-being was monitored by staff and they were supported to access healthcare services in a timely manner when they needed to. The service worked in partnership with health and social care representatives to meet people's needs. The service was responsive and quick to adapt to meet people's changing needs. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet.

People were consulted about how their care was delivered and given opportunities to feedback about how they felt the service was doing. There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and to drive improvements.

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 the service at the previous premises was good (published on 30 May 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for WHC Offices on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.