Mencap - Barnsley

Updated 31 May 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 team consisted of one inspector, one assistant 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. The expert by experience had experience of supporting and caring for young and older people.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs, including physical disability.

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 short notice of the inspection because we wanted to visit people in their homes and we needed support from the registered manager to arrange this.

Inspection site visit activity started on 13 May 2019 and ended on 14 May 2019.

On the 13 May 2019 we visited six people in their homes to ask their opinions about the care they received and to look at their care records. Whilst out on visits we were accompanied by a service manager and met two relatives and four support workers. We also spoke over the telephone with 12 people who used the service, one relative and six support workers.

On the 14 May 2019 we visited the office location to see the registered manager, interview staff and review care records and policies and procedures relating to the service. We interviewed three staff including, an administrator and two support workers. We also contacted staff by e-mail to ask them their views of the service. Eleven staff responded to our request for information.

What we did:

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from many sources. We looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the Care Quality Commission by the registered manager. We also spoke with the local authority commissioners, contracts officers and safeguarding and Healthwatch (Barnsley). Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

Updated 31 May 2019

About the service:

This service provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so 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 care and support.

Barnsley Mencap was providing personal care to 67 people at the time of the inspection.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected principles and values of 'Registering the Right Support' in the following ways, promotion of choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focussed on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service: People were pleased with the quality of care and support they experienced. They told us they felt safe when support workers were providing care and support to them. A person told us, “I feel really safe here. The staff are really good and look after me really well.”

Healthcare professionals involved with the service told us they had no concerns about the commissioning of the service or how it was managed.

Staff knew who to report any concerns to and assessments of potential risk helped to ensure people were as safe as possible. Staff told us they were confident that if they raised any concerns the registered manager and service managers would take them seriously and act accordingly.

The same support workers supported people most of the time. The provider recognized this was important to people. The provider employed enough support workers so people’s needs could be met in a timely way.

Support workers had training about how to manage medicines safely. We saw staff administer medicines to people safely and in line with agreed policies and protocols.

Support workers followed safe practice for infection control. They wore protective equipment such as gloves and aprons when they supported people. They also supported people to keep their homes clean.

Staff were recruited following a thorough process that ensured as far as possible, only suitable staff were employed. New support workers learnt about people’s needs by working alongside experienced colleagues before supporting people alone. They learnt about people’s likes, dislikes and preferences about how they wanted to be supported.

Staff received training which supported them to have the knowledge and skills to do their job well and effectively meet people’s needs.

Staff supported some people to have enough to eat and drink and to access health services when they needed. They telephoned for doctors or nurses to attend to a person if they were unwell.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged people to be as independent as possible. People were treated with respect by staff who demonstrated compassion and understanding.

People knew how to complain and were confident the registered manager or other staff would resolve their complaints.

People who used the service, relatives and staff could express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that gained the respect of the staff and motivated them as a team.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed. Some of these systems needed firmly embedding into practice to ensure they were fully effective.

Rating at last inspection: At our last inspection, the service was rated 'good.' Our last report was published on 30 November 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating awarded at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.