Archived: Choice Support - Havant

The inspection took place on 21 September 2015. We gave notice of our intention to visit Choice Support -Havant’s office to make sure people we needed to speak with were available. After our visit to the office we contacted more people who used the service, their relatives and members of staff by telephone.

Choice Support - Havant provides personal care services in their own homes to people who are living with a learning disability. Choice Support is a charity which provides a range of social care services, not all of which are regulated by the Care Quality Commission. At the time of our inspection there were nine people whose personal care and support came under the scope of this inspection, although more than 80 people received services which were not regulated.

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 provider made sure staff were informed about the risks of abuse and avoidable harm and had appropriate procedures in place if staff needed to report concerns. The provider also had procedures in place to identify, assess, manage and prevent other risks to people’s health and wellbeing. There were sufficient staff to make sure people were supported safely according to their needs and by staff who were familiar to them. Recruitment procedures were in place to make sure staff were suitable to work in a care setting. Where people were supported with their medicines, procedures and processes were in place to make sure this was done in a safe manner.

Staff received support to obtain and maintain the skills and knowledge they required to support people according to their needs through regular training, supervision and appraisal. They were aware of the need to obtain consent from people for their care and support, and of their legal responsibilities if a person lacked capacity to make a particular decision. Where appropriate, staff supported people to eat and drink healthily and to access other healthcare services when needed.

The provider took steps to foster caring relationships between staff and the people they supported. There was a range of opportunities for people to influence and be involved in the service they received. Staff respected and promoted people’s dignity and privacy.

People’s care and support met their needs and took their choices into account. Support plans and assessments were individual to the person and developed and assessed with them. They were reviewed every year or when people’s needs changed. Procedures were in place to make sure people’s care was as documented in their plans. People were supported to take part in activities in the community and in groups organised by the provider. There was a complaints procedure in place which people were aware of, but they had not needed to use it.

People and staff found the provider was receptive to comments and suggestions, and flexible where it needed to adapt to people’s preferences. There were good channels of communication and the registered manager and service managers were easy to contact. There was a clear management structure and a management system which took into account the working patterns of staff. Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of service provided.