Equal Partnerships

Updated 4 March 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’ settings, 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. This service is also a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses.

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 informed the provider that we had started the inspection on the 16 December 2019 and requested information relating to good governance. We informed them of when the site visit would take place. Inspection activity started on 16 December 2019 and ended on the 9 January 2020. We visited the office location on 9 January 2020.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make or have made since the last inspection. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We met, contacted by telephone or received emails from 12 members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers, care workers and administration staff. We received feedback from two health and social care professionals who worked alongside the service. We also spoke with one member of staff who supported a person to attend a volunteering opportunity.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records, risk assessments and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records related to the management and quality assurance of the service.

After the inspection

We received feedback from three members of staff and three relatives. We also received feedback from an advocacy service.

Updated 4 March 2020

About the service

Equal Partnerships is a domiciliary care and supported living service based in Wallsend. The service provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes, who have a learning disability and/or autism. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people who received care from the service.

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 received exceptional care and support from staff who knew them extremely well. Staff put people at the heart of the service. There was a strong person-centred ethos for how people should be supported within the organisation. The registered manager told us “We are working for and on behalf of the person. The focus is on them.” People were encouraged and supported to be a valued part of their local community, with some people accessing paid or voluntary opportunities. Feedback from relatives and people we spoke with was all extremely positive regarding the care and support they received. Comments included “We have a brilliant team of people who help him live his daily life in the best possible way. He has a range of daily activities that they support and encourage him to enjoy to the full.”

People’s care needs were assessed and reviewed regularly. Care plans contained person-centred information about what was important for the person to be able to live their lives as they wished. People were supported by staff who knew them well. For example, we were told how the service had supported an individual to overcome their anxieties relating to public transport. The service had supported the person with accessing public transport which meant they were able to achieve their goal of going on holiday abroad. The staff member said “We have built trust between us which has helped us support (person) with accessing new opportunities and opened up their world. We would do anything to make them happy.”

People’s safety was at the forefront of everything the service did. Risks were appropriately assessed and managed. People were supported to take positive risks to enable them to live fulfilling lives and maximise their independence. For example, some people had said they wanted to remain at home without staff support for short periods of time. Guidance was in place to support both the staff and person to do this safely.

Systems were in place to support the safe management of medicines. People had varying levels of support needs around their abilities to manage their own medicines. Wherever possible people were supported to take their medicines independently.

The provider followed safe recruitment practices. People were actively involved in recruiting and choosing their own staff. People were able to be involved in writing their own job advertisements for their care staff. The registered manager told us, in line with the Reach Standards, people could choose to have alternative care providers for either part or all of their care package if they wished. They said they would actively support people to do this, involving advocates if required.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs safely. Staffing was organised flexibly to support people to be able to access their chosen activities such as community activities, employment, activities within their home and identified one to one activities. Staff were recruited and allocated to designated teams, who supported a small number of people who accessed the service. The registered manager explained this was to ensure people received consistency with their care and support, by staff who knew them extremely well.

People were supported by staff who spoke passionately about wanting to provide high quality care to them. There was evidence of trusting and caring relationships between staff and people who visited us at the offices. Staff were compassionate and caring when they spoke about the care and support they provided to people. Staff comments included “I believe we support people to be independent in this house. It’s the little everyday things that are important to people. We don’t do things for people, we encourage them to be independent and keep their skills. We enable them which is key”, and “We fit around the person. Rotas are flexible to make sure people are where they need/want to be. We do everything we can to make things happen for the person, to make sure we are person centred.”

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 leadership and management were praised by people receiving the service, relatives and staff for their commitment and hard work to ensuring people received the care and support to meet their needs. One staff member told us “Our foundations are quite unique. Everything is focused on the person and what they want to do in life.”

The organisation had as a standard the ethos to treat staff well. They had recently invested in a “well-being” programme to support them to understand the mental health and well-being needs of the staff. House managers had attended mental health training to support their understanding of mental health awareness for both people using the service and staff. One staff member said, “I have just completed training in two workbooks on mental health awareness. As a manager it is important for me to understand about the signs and symptoms of things such as anxiety and depression, so that I can support staff and people we support with their mental health needs.”

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure 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. In line with The Real Tenancy Test and Reach standards people had separate tenancy agreements and care contracts. These support people to have control of where and who they live with. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection in March 2017 the service was rated Outstanding (published 30 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about Equal Partnerships until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.