The Wilf Ward Family Trust Domiciliary Care Scarborough

Updated 24 December 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The Wilf Ward Family Trust Domiciliary Care Scarborough provides care and support to people living in 14 ‘supported living’ houses, 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 did not have a manager registered with the CQC. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. A manager was in post and had submitted an application to become the registered manager.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was announced. We gave 72 hours’ notice to make sure people and staff would be available when we visited.

Inspection activity started on 21 October 2019 and ended on 5 November 2019. It included visits to the office location and two supported living services to speak with people and review records. We also telephoned people to gather their feedback about the service.

What we did before the inspection

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

During the inspection

We visited two supported living houses and spoke with five people who used the service; we also spoke with another six people and four people’s relatives by telephone. We spoke with three managers, the regional manager, the operations director and four care staff.

We looked at two people's care records in full and two people's care records in part. This included medication administration records and people's daily notes. We looked at two staff's recruitment records as well as induction, training and supervision records for the staff team. We reviewed meeting minutes, quality assurance audits and a selection of other records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 24 December 2019

About the service

The Wilf Ward Family Trust Domiciliary Care Scarborough provides personal care to people living in supported living houses in and around Scarborough. The service specialises in supporting younger adults and older people who may be living with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a physical disability, mental health needs or a sensory impairment. Thirty-seven younger adults and older people were using the service at the time of this inspection.

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 received person-centred support from caring staff. Staff were respectful and kind in how they supported and encouraged people.

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. Staff were very skilled in how they offered people choices and supported them to make decisions. Accessible information was used to help people understand options and make decisions. We made a recommendation about record keeping in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People’s needs were thoroughly assessed, risks identified and then their care and support planned in a way which maximised their independence whilst supporting them to stay safe. People and their relatives were involved in planning and reviewing the support provided to make sure it met their needs and personal preferences.

Staff were well trained and supported to provide effective care to meet people’s needs; they accessed a wide range of training and received regular supervisions and an annual appraisal. Staff monitored people’s health and wellbeing and supported them to attend appointments and seek medical attention if they became unwell.

People enjoyed the company of the staff who supported them and felt safe with the support they provided. Staff were trained to safeguard people from the risk of abuse or avoidable harm. Medicines were managed and administered safely. Accidents and incidents were monitored to make sure lessons were learned if things went wrong.

People were supported to take part in a wide range of activities and enjoyed the opportunities to try new things and pursue their hobbies and interest. Staff were proactive in how they supported and encouraged people to maintain their independence.

People felt able to speak with staff or management if they were unhappy or needed to complain.

There was a person-centred culture within the service and this was reflected in how the care and support was organised and delivered to meet people’s needs and improve their quality of life. People were actively engaged in developing the service and in driving improvements. Meetings, surveys and engagement groups were used effectively to encourage people to be involved in shaping and improving how the service was run.

There was open communication and management were responsive to feedback and suggestions. Audits helped management monitor the quality and safety of the service and identify when improvements could be made.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection service was rated good (report published 20 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.