Archived: Sussex Care Services

Updated 19 May 2016

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.

The inspection was carried out on 23rd March 2016. The provider was given notice because there are different locations providing a service for adults who are often out during the day. There is a main office from which the service is managed and we needed to be sure that someone would be in and people would be available to talk with us. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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.

Before the inspection we checked the information that we held about the home and the provider. This included previous inspection reports and statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that had occurred at the home. A notification is information about important events which the home is required to send to us by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

We visited the central office and two separate locations where care and support was provided. We observed care and spoke with people, relatives and staff. We also spent time looking at records including six care records, four staff files, medication administration record (MAR) sheets, a service improvement plan, staff training plans, complaints and other records relating to the management of the service.

We contacted local health and social care professionals including a representative from the local authority to ask for their views. On the day of our inspection, we spoke with eight people using the service and one relative. We spoke with the registered manager, a deputy manager, a specialist practitioner and three project workers.

Updated 19 May 2016

We inspected Sussex Care Services on 23rd March 2016. The service provided support to people living in their own accommodation within four communal houses in Brighton and Hove. The service supported 30 people on the day of our inspection. The service provided support to people with mental health issues and used the Recovery Star which is a tool that measures change and supports recovery by providing a map of the person’s journey to recovery, it is a way of plotting the person’s progress and planning actions. The service aimed to support people for 18 months before people moved to more independent living arrangements. People received care and support at four separate locations across the city. The Care Quality Commission inspects the care and support the service provides, but does not inspect the accommodation people live in.

This inspection was announced which meant people, the registered manager and staff knew we were coming shortly before we visited the service. The provider was given notice because there are different locations with staff providing support for adults who are often out during the day. There is a main office from which the service is managed and we needed to be sure that someone would be in and people would be available to talk with us.

A new manager had started in post in November 2015 and was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. ‘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 told us they felt safe and were happy with the support they received from Sussex Care Services. One person told us, “I feel safe, the staff are good”. People were safe as they were supported by staff that were trained in safeguarding adults at risk procedures and knew how to recognise signs of abuse. People were supported to manage their medicines safely. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and appropriate action had been taken and recorded by the registered manager.

We saw people were supported by staff that knew them well, gave them individual attention and looked at providing additional assistance as and when required. Staff received training to support them with their role on a continuous basis to ensure they could meet people’s needs effectively.

Staff, the registered manager and locality managers were knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They were aware this legislation protected the rights of people who lacked capacity to make decisions about their care and welfare.

The staff team were responsive to people’s social needs and supported people to maintain and foster interests and relationships that were important to them. People were central to the practices involved in the planning and reviews of their support and guided by the Recovery Star Model which places the person at the centre of their care. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to plan to move to a more independent living arrangement. A staff member said “Everything is about the client; we’re really good at being flexible and responsive to people’s needs and wants”.

People received regular assessments of their needs and any identified risks. Records were maintained in relation to people’s healthcare, for example when people were supported with making or attending GP appointments.

People told us that staff were kind and caring. One person told us about staff, "They care, they let you get on but are there for support ". A relative we spoke with said of staff “I have nothing but good things to say about them”. We observed staff treating people with dignity and respect and involving them in their care.

The service was well led and had good leadership and direction from the registered manager. Staff felt fully supported by their manager to undertake their roles. A person centred culture was promoted and embedded. There were robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure a high quality of care and support was provided.