Archived: The Halow Care Agency

Updated 23 January 2020

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ setting and those living with families, 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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 11 December 2019 and ended on 31 December 2019. We visited the office location on 16 December 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we held about the service, including data about safeguarding and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who received support and two relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, a trustee, quality consultant, deputy manager and three staff members. We reviewed a range of documents about people's care and how the service was managed. We looked at four care plans, three staff files, risk assessments, policies and procedures and internal audits that had been completed.

After the inspection

We reviewed additional information requested from the provider regarding the support people received and further audit information.

Updated 23 January 2020

About the service: The Halow Care Agency is registered to provide personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 12 people with personal care needs. Eleven people were living independently in a variety of settings and one person lived with their family.

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 values of the service were embedded into practice and were designed to ensure people received a highly personalised service which focussed on their specific needs and aspirations.

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.

People had developed positive relationships with staff and told us they felt safe. Risks to people’s safety were managed whilst ensuring people were able to develop their independence. Where people required support with their medicines this was provided in line with their prescriptions. People were supported to access healthcare professionals and to monitor their healthcare needs.

Staff were supported to develop skills and received the training they required to meet people’s individual needs. There were sufficient staff to meet each person’s support hours and staff were recruited safely. Staff told us they felt supported in their roles.

People were supported by staff who were caring and knew them well. Each person had a personalised support plan in place which highlighted their needs and goals for the future. People and their relatives spoke positively about what the support they received and how they were progressing towards independence.

People, relatives and staff were positive about the service and the approach of the registered manager. There were systems in place to check the quality of the service and the service worked in partnership with healthcare professionals and community resources. There was a strong emphasis on continually developing the service and people and staff were fully involved in this process.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update): The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 2 January 2019). One breach of regulations was identified. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on our inspection schedule.

Follow up: 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.