Background to this inspection
Updated
24 April 2021
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one assistant inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in ‘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.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, the provider was in the process of recruiting a new manager. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
Inspection activity started on 9 March 2021 and ended on 16 March 2021. We visited the office location on 9 March 2021 and made calls to relatives and staff on 16 March 2021.
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.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the regional manager, quality lead, service manager and care staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication 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.
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.
Updated
24 April 2021
About the service
Aspirations (Northampton) is a supported living service providing personal care to adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. 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. At the time of the inspection 29 people were receiving personal care.
People lived in their own accommodation either in a house with shared communal areas or a flat or bungalow in the community. Some accommodation had a room for staff to use if 24-hour support was required.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service did not have a registered manager in post and audits had not always been consistently completed or signed off as per the providers procedures. Audits that had been completed contained actions and strategies to mitigate issues found.
Not all staff had completed up to date training. The provider was in the processing of ensuring staff completed the relevant courses.
Medicine management required improvement. Not all medicine administration records were consistently signed or completed.
People were protected from harm and abuse. People and relatives told us they felt safe being supported by Aspirations (Northampton). Staff understood safeguarding procedures and incidents and accidents were recorded and investigated appropriately.
Staffing levels were safe and people were supported by a consistent staff team who knew people well. Staff had been safely recruited.
Arrangements were in place to safely manage and monitor risks associated with people’s care. Risks were assessed, recorded and strategies implemented to reduce those risks.
People were protected from infection control. Staff had adequate supplies of personal protective equipment [PPE] and knew what PPE to use in specific circumstances. Staff were involved in regular testing for COVID-19.
The provider learnt lessons through identifying trends and patterns from incidents, accidents and complaints. These lessons were then shared with staff through team meetings and supervision.
People, relatives and staff were supported to feedback on the service. Complaints received had been investigated and responded to.
People were supported to have their healthcare needs met. Referrals to external professionals were completed as needed.
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.
This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were supported in homes that were personalised to them. Staff supported people to access and be part of their local community and promoted people’s independence.
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
The last rating for this service was requires improvements (published 17 January 2020) and they were found to be in breach of regulation 17: Good Governance.
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection enough improvement had been made and the provider was no longer breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to oversight and a COVID outbreak. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has not changed from requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aspirations (Northampton) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.