ASLS (Avens Limited)

Updated 22 November 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. 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

One inspector visited the office to see records and meet staff. The same inspector visited two people living in a supported living house.

Service and service type

The service is a home care agency, it provides personal care to people in supported living services and a domiciliary care service for people in their own homes or in support living schemes. 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 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

A comprehensive inspection took place on 12 November 2019 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that staff would be available for us to speak with and to arrange for us to meet people.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection the provider completed a 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications received from the service before the inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We received feedback from a social worker by email who gave us permission to share their feedback in this report.

During the inspection

We arranged a visit to visit a supported living house, so we could meet staff and people, we were able to observe staff and people interacting during our visit. We spoke with two people.

We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, the director, a head of support, a senior support worker and a support worker.

We reviewed a range of records in the office and supported living house. This included five people’s care and support records and two medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and records for all staff training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 22 November 2019

About the service

ASLS (Avens Limited) provides personal care to people living with a learning disability in their own home or in supported living houses. On the day of our visit, the service was providing support and personal care for 13 people with varied care packages. 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.

People received care in their own homes and people received care who were living in supported living houses where four people or less lived.

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 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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having opportunities gain new skills and become more independent.

We observed positive, friendly interactions between people and staff. Staff respected people and focussed on increasing their independence and achieving good outcomes. People were treated with dignity and kindness. People were supported to learn new skills and succeed in their goals.

People received personalised care that was tailored to meet their individual needs, preferences and choices. Person centred care plans were detailed and guided staff about people's needs and how to meet them. Staff supported people to make choices and decisions relating to their care and to live their lives as they wished.

There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and the care delivered was flexible to enable them to engage with activities, access the community and to live their lives independently. People were supported by staff whose suitability to work in the care sector was checked. Staff completed training that reflected people’s varied needs and were experienced in their roles to provide effective care to people. Staff received regular supervisions and an annual appraisal.

People were comfortable in the company of the support workers. Staff felt supported by the managers and felt confident that any suggestions or concerns would be listened to and acted upon. People were asked for their feedback about the service through house meetings and giving feedback to staff. A range of quality assurance systems measured and monitored the quality of care and the service overall.

People were safe and were supported by staff who were trained to recognise the signs of any potential abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding and knew what action to take if they had any concerns about people's safety or welfare.

People's risks were identified and assessed appropriately such as accessing the community, falls and mobility and road safety.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 16 February 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.