Background to this inspection
Updated
17 August 2015
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.
This inspection took place on 14 May 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. This was to ensure that members of the management team and staff were available to talk to. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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.
Before we visited we reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications. Notifications are about events that the provider is required to inform us of by law. We looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During our visit we spoke with 15 relatives, (as the people who used the service were under the age of 18), four link workers, four support staff, one care co-ordinator and the registered manager.
We looked at the care plans for six people, the staff training and induction records, two people’s medicine records and the quality assurance audits that the registered manager completed.
Updated
17 August 2015
We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 14 May 2015.
Nottingham City Council Short Breaks Team Provide personal care and short breaks for disabled children who have a wide range of disabilities. There were 84 people receiving care and support in their own homes at the time of our visit.
There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People felt the service was safe and reliable. The provider had suitable arrangements in place to identify the possibility of abuse and to reduce the risk of people experiencing abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about how to recognise abuse and confirmed they had completed relevant safeguarding training.
Appropriate risk assessments had been undertaken to make sure the environment was safe and secure for staff to attend to people’s needs.
People were supported by appropriately skilled and trained staff because the provider had a robust recruitment process in place. There were sufficient numbers of staff to cover calls in an effective and caring way. The manager was recruiting for additional staff at the time of our visit.
People were supported to make informed choices and staff had awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is designed to protect people who do not have the capacity to make certain important decisions for themselves, because they may lack the capacity to make such decisions due to permanent or temporary problems such as mental illness, brain injury or learning disability. We found that the MCA was being adhered to.
Care plans contained individual information relevant to the person. People were encouraged to be independent and received relevant information on how the service was run. People felt that they could express their views about the service that they received.
People knew how to raise any concerns. They knew who they should contact and raise the concern with.
People received good care which met their needs. They were treated with respect and the staff provided the care in a caring way.
People and their families were involved in decisions related to their care and support. Care plans contained information relevant to the person and were individualised to reflect people’s needs.
Complaints and concerns were recorded and reviewed to ensure they were dealt with in a timely manner, which also helped make improvements to the way the service operated..
The service was monitored regularly by the provider and registered manager to make sure a quality service was provided.
People were encouraged to express their views and comment on how the service was run.
The management team worked effectively and supported staff appropriately. The service worked well with other professionals and the care commissioners.