Archived: NAS Community Services (Hertfordshire)

Updated 2 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

NAS Community Services (Hertfordshire) is a supported living service. It provides personal care and support to people who live in their own houses or flats. It provides a service to adults with a learning disability and autism. Not everyone using NAS Community Services (Hertfordshire) receives the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care, help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection four people were using the service.

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 to ensure the registered manager and staff were available to talk to us.

What we did:

The inspection site visit activity started on 08 March 2019 and ended on 20 March 2019. We visited the office location on 08 March 2019 to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. Following this visit we contacted people, relatives and staff on 12 March 2019. We also requested more information from the registered manager about how the service was operating. They sent us the information on 20 March 2019.

Before the inspection we reviewed information, we held about the service including statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We received feedback from the local authority about their most recent inspection. We also reviewed the provider information return (PIR) submitted to us on 11 January 2019. This is information that the provider is required to send to us, which gives us some key information about the service and tells us what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with two staff members, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We spoke with one person using the service and a relative. We also asked for feedback from commissioners about the service. We looked at two care plans and reviewed records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 2 May 2019

About the service: The service provided care and support to adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder in their own homes. At the time of the inspection four people were being supported by the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they were very happy with the support they received and they felt safe. They told us staff discussed with them how to stay safe and they learned how to be independent.

Relatives told us people were supported by a team of staff who were kind and supportive.

People`s support needs were well documented and staff had guidance in place to be able to effectively support people. People achieved positive outcomes due to the structured support they received.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

The care service was developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People were encouraged to take positive risks and live fulfilling lives. The registered manager empowered staff to act as advocates for people so that people`s choices and wishes were with other professionals involved in their care.

Staff received training to understand how to support people with learning disability and autism to be included in society and be active part of their community. Staff told us they felt supported and valued by the organisation they worked for.

The registered manager and deputy manager developed, promoted and implemented innovative ways of involving people in developing high-quality, outstanding practice that could be sustained over time. There were consistently high levels of constructive engagement with staff and people who used the service through team meetings, review meetings and supervisions. People were involved in vetting the staff supporting them either in interviews or when staff were allocated shadow shifts in their own home.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations supporting people with similar needs and they were promoting `Autism Hour` whereby they were holding talks in local schools and in the community, displaying posters to educate the general public about the importance of including people with a learning disability and autism in the community.

The registered manager and the provider conducted regular audits and surveys to monitor the quality of the service provided. Where improvements were needed these were entered on an action plan and closely monitored by the registered manager until they were ready to sign these off as completed.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 22 June 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated Good overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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