Archived: The Hive

Updated 27 September 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 took place on 7 June 2016 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we requested that the provider complete 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. This was received from the provider. Before the inspection, we reviewed the information available to us about the service, such as the notifications that they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection, we spoke with one carer, one person using the service and the registered manager. We reviewed care records and risk assessments for one person and looked at other records associated with running the service, such as the staff rota and training records.

Updated 27 September 2016

The inspection took place on 7 June 2016. It was an announced visit. The Hive provides support to people living in their own homes, who may have a learning difficulty and/or mental health or neurological support requirements. There were two people accessing the service when we inspected.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 using the service were safe. There were systems in place to identify risks and protect people from harm. These included appropriate risk assessments which were in place to provide guidance for staff on managing risk. There were sufficient staff to keep people safe. Where staff prompted or checked people had taken medicines, risk assessments were in place for those people to administer their own medicines safely.

Staff were aware of mental capacity and sought consent before carrying out any care tasks. Staff received supervision and training to support them in developing their roles. Staff supported people to eat a balanced diet in their own homes.

People were looked after by staff who were caring and compassionate towards them. They were supported to maintain and improve their independence. Staff responded promptly to any changing healthcare needs, and people were well supported to access the community. People were actively involved in their care planning.

The service required improvement in well-led, as they had not notified CQC prior to making changes, which was not working within all the conditions of their registration.

The manager visited people regularly and people found them approachable. People were encouraged to provide feedback on the service they received. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and these were used to develop and improve the service. The provider had developed some bespoke ways of assessing people in accordance with the client group.