Affinia Healthcare Limited

Updated 29 March 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 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 a supported living setting, 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before inspection

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.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We spoke to one person that used the service, the registered manager and two staff.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with two professionals who regularly visit the service. We also spoke with two members of staff.

Updated 29 March 2022

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 statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

About the service

Affinia Healthcare is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in a supported living setting in the London Borough of Havering. At the time of our inspection, there were two people living at the supported living site that received personal care. The supported living site was made up of 18 self-contained flats. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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

The supported living service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. This enabled people who used the service to live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.

People received care from staff who were kind and compassionate. Staff treated people with dignity and respected their privacy. Staff had developed positive relationships with the people they supported. They understood people's needs, preferences, and what was important to them. People were encouraged to be independent and to carry out tasks without support.

Staff understood how to protect and safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Risk assessments were in place to ensure people received safe care. Relevant pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure staff were suitable to care for people safely.

Staff had completed essential training to perform their roles effectively and felt supported in their roles. 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 had access to health services and were supported with meals when required.

Where people required support with their personal care, health, dietary needs and with their medicines, this was carried out safely. Staff were provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect people from the risks of cross infection.

Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place. Staff reported having a positive relationship with the provider and felt communication was effective. Quality monitoring systems allowed for the effective monitoring of the service by the provider.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 21 August 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for this service under the previous provider, Affinia Healthcare was requires improvement.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection because the service had not been previously rated.

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.