Background to this inspection
Updated
25 March 2023
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 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to 3 people living in 2 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 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 22 February and ended on 2 March 2023. We visited the location’s office on 22 February 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information about the service from on-going monitoring such as information we had received. We sought feedback from the local authority, Healthwatch and other professionals who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does 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 3 relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager and 4 staff. We looked at the care records for 2 people. We checked the care people received matched the information in their records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, including audits carried out within service.
Updated
25 March 2023
About the service
Watling Court Orbital Plaza is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service provides support to children from 13 to 18, people with learning disabilities or have autistic spectrum disorder, people who have physical disabilities and sensory impairment and younger adults. There were 3 people, with learning disabilities, using the service at the time of the inspection.
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.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives as staff knew people well. Staff understood people were to be supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. However, the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice.
People’s care plans and risk assessments did not always identify how to support them with their individual needs. Staff had not always received training in some non-mandatory areas of care. However, people had consistent staff teams and staff knew people well to be able to support them with their needs and to have choice and control in their lives.
Right Care:
Some improvements were needed to people’s care plans and although plans were person centred, they did not always reflect all health risks were assessed and planned for. The provider had failed to ensure the Mental Capacity Act 2005 had been followed when completing care plans and risk assessments. Staff had received learning disability training, which is now a requirement for all services who support people with a learning disability.
Right Culture:
The staff knew people well and supported them to have as much choice and control over their lives as possible. The registered manager had systems in place to ensure incidents, safeguarding’s and complaints were dealt with appropriately. They were responsive to our feedback and told us they would put measures in place to reduce risks identified during the inspection. Relatives and staff were positive about the registered manager.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at ww.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 23 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines and care planning. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidance and governance and oversight at this inspection.
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.