This inspection took place on 18 and 19 October 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice that we would be coming because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to support us with the inspection process.UK Care (Special Needs) Limited provides the regulated activity of personal care to people living in a supporting living accommodation setting. The service aims to support people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. At the time of this inspection there were seven people receiving personal care.
At our last inspection we rated the service ‘Good’, however, the service was rated requires improvement under well-led as concerns were noted around the way in which the service communicated with relatives about changes to the staff team. At this inspection we found that the service had addressed this concern and the evidence we looked at continued to support the rating of ‘Good’ and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
People and their relatives told us that they felt safe with the care and support that they and their relative received from support staff.
Risk assessments gave information on people’s individual risks associated with their health and care needs and guided support staff on how to minimise known risks to keep people safe.
People received their medicines safely and as prescribed.
Safe recruitment processes ensured that only those staff assessed as safe to work with vulnerable adults were employed.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff. Staffing allocations were based on people’s individually assessed support needs.
Accidents and incidents were recorded, reviewed and analysed to enable learning and improvements to prevent future re-occurrences.
Support staff told us and records confirmed that they were effectively supported through induction, regular training, supervision and annual appraisals.
People were appropriately supported with their nutrition and hydration needs to ensure they maintained a healthy and balanced diet. Where people had specialist dietary requirements these had been incorporated into their care plan and delivery.
People were routinely supported to access a variety of health and social care services or where there was an identified need or concern.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
We observed people had established positive and caring relationships with support staff. Support staff knew the people they worked with very well.
Care plans were person centred and comprehensive and enabled support staff to provide care and support to people that was responsive to their needs.
Complaints were recorded and appropriately responded to with details of the actions taken to resolve the complaint.
Clear management oversight systems in place allowed the registered manager and provider to monitor the quality of care and support people received. Where concerns were noted action plans in place ensured these were addressed and future learning was implemented.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.