Archived: HF Trust - Gloucestershire DCA

Updated 8 September 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Prior to the inspection we looked at information about the service including notifications and any other information received from relevant agencies. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to report to us. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR was information given to us by the provider. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make.

This inspection was completed on 23 and 26 June 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to ensure we would be able to meet with people where they were receiving the service. The inspection was completed by one adult social care inspector. The previous inspection was completed on 29 July 2014 and there were no breaches of regulation at that time and the service was rated as ‘Good’.

During the inspection we looked at five people's care records and those relating to the running of the service. This included staffing rotas, policies and procedures, quality checks that had been completed, supervision records and training information for staff.

We spoke with the registered manager of the service and seven members of care staff. We spoke to and visited 10 people who receive support in their homes. Not every person was able to express their views verbally or wished to engage with us. We therefore spent time observing care and the interactions between people and staff. This helped us understand the experience of people who could not tell us about their life in HF Trust Gloucestershire DCA or the support they received in their own home.

After the inspection we sought the views of four health and social care professionals and received feedback from three. We spoke to six relatives by telephone and emailed eight relatives and received two replies. These were all positive and gave us good feedback on how people were cared for at the service.

Updated 8 September 2017

This inspection was announced and carried out on 23 and 26 June 2017. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to ensure we would be able to meet with people where they were receiving the service.

HF Trust Gloucestershire DCA provides personal care and support to people with a learning disability and/or mental health needs to live in their own homes either on their own or sharing with others in supported living services. A supported living service is one where people receive care and support to enable them to live independently. People have tenancy agreements with housing providers and receive their care and support from HF Trust Gloucestershire DCA. At the time of our inspection 12 people were receiving support with their personal care.

The service was last inspected on 29 July 2014. At the previous inspection the service was rated as Good and there were no breaches of regulation. .

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was caring and people and their relatives spoke extremely positively about the outstanding care they received. We observed staff supporting people in a caring and patient way. Staff knew the people they supported well and were able to describe what they liked to do and how they wanted to be supported. People were supported sensitively with an emphasis on promoting their rights to privacy, dignity, choice and independence. People were supported to undertake meaningful activities, which reflected their interests.

The service was extremely responsive to people's needs. Support plans were person centred to provide consistent, high quality care and support. People using the service and their relatives were able to raise concerns and were listened to. Management and care staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and wishes and consistently went the extra mile to communicate and support them effectively. Where it was clear people’s needs had changed, the registered manager and care staff worked with the person and their family to check if the package of care needed changing to accommodate their additional care needs. Staff said the service was very responsive to their feedback.

The service was safe. Risk assessments were implemented and reflected the current level of risk to people. There were sufficient staffing levels to ensure safe care and treatment.

The service was not always responsible for people's accommodation; however we found they had ensured people's homes were safe and comfortable, through liaison with landlords and other relevant agencies. The Care Quality Commission's role in these settings was to focus on the regulated activity of personal care and had no regulatory responsibility to inspect the accommodation. We saw that the provider had environmental risk assessments and a log of all maintenance records that had, or were due to be completed.

People were receiving effective care and support. Staff received training which was relevant to their role. Staff received regular supervisions and appraisals. The service was adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

Staff told us there was an open culture and the environment was an enjoyable place to work. Staff were extremely passionate about their job roles and felt integral to the process of providing effective care to people.

Management and care staff had a good understanding of people's needs and wishes and communicated effectively to support them. Where it was clear people's needs had changed, the registered manager worked with the person, their family and health and social care professionals to check if the support needed changing to accommodate any additional care needs or reduced support. Staff said the service was very responsive to feedback.

The service was well led. Quality checks were occurring regularly and identified actions to improve the service. Staff, relatives and other professionals spoke positively about the registered manager.

People's views were sought through care records, reviews, meetings and surveys. Systems were in place to regularly review and update records. People were actively involved in striving to improve the service and support provided.