16 November 2015
During a routine inspection
This announced inspection took place on 16 November 2015. The service provides supported living to adults that live at home throughout Northamptonshire. There were 34 people receiving care at the time of our inspection.
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 had delegated the day to day running of the agency to a branch manager.
People’s care and support needs were continually monitored and reviewed to ensure that care was provided in the way that they needed. People had been supported to set goals and staff helped to facilitate people to achieve their goals. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care when they wanted to.
There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person. Recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.
People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet. Staff monitored people’s health and well-being and ensured people had access to healthcare professionals when required. There were appropriate arrangements in place for the management of medicines.
People were safeguarded from harm as the provider had systems in place to prevent, recognise and report any suspected signs of abuse. Staff knew their responsibilities as defined by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) and had applied that knowledge appropriately.
Staff understood the importance of obtaining people’s consent when supporting them with their daily living needs. People experienced caring relationships with the staff that provided good interaction by taking the time to listen and understand what people needed.
People’s needs were met in line with their individual care plans and assessed needs. Staff took time to get to know people and ensured that people’s care was tailored to their individual needs.
People had their comments and complaints listened to and acted on, without the fear that they would be discriminated against for making a complaint.
People were supported by a team of staff that had the managerial guidance and support they needed to do their job. The quality of the service was monitored by the audits regularly carried out by the manager and by the provider.