Archived: Choice Support Havant

Choice Support Havant is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to two people at the time of the inspection. 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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received safe and effective care from staff who understood how to recognise and report issues of concern and potential abuse.

The provider had effective systems in place to maintain staff’s skills and knowledge through training and development.

Staff worked well with other agencies to provide consistent, effective and timely care. Formal supervisions were not always delivered in line with the providers policy. We made a recommendation about this.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provision and to make any necessary improvements when shortfalls were identified.

People’s care plans were detailed and contained good information for staff to help them meet people’s needs

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of key questions Safe, Effective and Well-Led the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

The service had been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin

Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensured that people who used the service could live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflected the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that included control, choice, and independence. People using the service received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.

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 4 May 2020). 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

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Choice Support Havant on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Choice Support Havant is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to four people at the time of the inspection. 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.

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

The provider did not have effective systems to monitor the service and drive the necessary improvement. At times, there was a lack of detailed records regarding support plans and risk assessments.

Medicines were not always managed safely. Where people had ‘as required’ medicines these were not always managed safely, and medicines competency checks were not completed on a regular basis.

Consent had not been sought in relation to certain aspects of care. We have made a recommendation about this.

Staff had not always had formal supervision although told us they felt well supported. We made a recommendation about this.

People were positive about the support they received with food and fluid. However, where they needed speech and language therapy guidance, this was not always evidenced. People were cared for by staff who received appropriate training.

Despite this, people were happy being supported by Choice Support Havant and told us they felt safe.

Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse. The recruitment process was robust and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People told us they received consistent support from staff.

People were supported by staff who were kind, caring and who understood their likes, dislikes and preferences. People had access to information in formats that were appropriate for them.

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 as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The registered manager demonstrated a willingness to make improvements. During the inspection they began reviewing some of their systems and processes, to ensure the service consistently provided good, safe, quality care and support.

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 24 October 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.