This inspection took place on the 15 November 2016 and was announced. This last inspection took place in October 2013 and was found to be compliant in the areas we inspected.
Enable Ability is a domiciliary care agency who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the Regulated Activity ‘Personal Care’. Enable ability provide support to both children aged 0 to 18 years and younger adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. At the time of this inspection, the service was supporting 10 children who may require personal care whilst being supported through the befriending scheme. None of the adults they supported required any personal care.
The recruitment process was not robust. We found that four out of the five staff recruitment files we looked at, did not have full employment histories recorded.
Staff had received appropriate training essential training in order for them to carry out the care and support required.
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.
The registered manager and children’s coordinator ensured that staff had a full understanding of the children they were to be supporting, prior to them starting work with them. They knew the child’s care needs and ensured the staff had the appropriate skills and knowledge to be able to support them.
Parents of the children who were supported by Enable Ability felt their children were safe with the care and support they received. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse and what action to take if they needed to report it.
Children received a service which was based on their personal needs and their family’s wishes. Changes in their care needs were identified and amended as required. The service was flexible to changes if they were requested. Parents said their children had positive relationships with the support workers and felt their children were treated with respect and dignity and the staff were mindful of the child and families privacy.
The feedback we received from family’s members was positive. They felt their children were safe with the care and support provided by the staff from Enable Ability. The registered manager and staff were aware of their responsibility to provide the care and support to the child. There were systems in place to ensure the risks to the children’s safety and wellbeing were identified and addressed.
Staff told us they felt supported and that they received formal supervision twice a year, but were able to speak with the registered manager or children’s coordinator at any time if they felt they needed support. They said they felt fully supported by the registered manager and had received a full induction with training and supervision.
The registered manager demonstrated the importance of effective quality assurance systems. Annual surveys were sent out to families and used to continuous improve. This feedback would then be used and actions taken.
During this inspection we found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014