Background to this inspection
Updated
6 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
This inspection was undertaken by two inspectors. One inspector visited people in their own homes and spoke with people and staff and the other inspector looked at records in the office, spoke with office staff and telephoned family members and staff to obtain their feedback regarding the service.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to 28 people living in nine ‘supported living’ setting, 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 registered as a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to three people living in their own houses and flats
Affinity Trust also provides specialist support for people with complex needs. One person who needed this had their care co-ordinated from the Tameside office.
At the time of the inspection the service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. There was an operation manager in post who was in the process of registering with the CQC.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.
Inspection activity started on 14/01/2020 and ended on 05/02/2020. We visited the office location on 14/01/2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service. We spoke with ten members of staff including the division director, operation manager, support manager, team leaders and support workers. We spoke with five family members to obtain their view regarding the service.
We reviewed a range of records. This included nine people’s care records and two people’s medication records. With appropriate permission we visited five people in their homes to observe how staff supported them. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
6 March 2020
About the service
Affinity Trust Tameside is a Domiciliary care and supported housing service providing personal care to 32 adults with learning disabilities and other complex needs at the time of the inspection. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
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. 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 using the service received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support which was appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Overall people and relatives felt the service was safe, staff were safely recruited and there were processes in place to ensure the environment was safe for the people living there. People were safely supported with their medicine and work was ongoing to reduce the use of prescribed medicine to control behaviours which might challenge others. When things went wrong, action was taken to learn from this, share the learning and prevent future risk where possible.
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 service used some restrictive intervention practices as a last resort, in a person-centred way, in line with positive behaviour support principles. Staff told us they had received all the relevant training and understood people’s needs and preferences. People were supported to access health care services as needed and any guidance was incorporated into plans of care.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that 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. 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 to gain new skills and become more independent. Care plans identified peoples wishes and aspirations and how these could be met by staff. Complaints were being investigated and the service worked closely with those involved to resolve any complaints.
The service had a clear management structure and systems for oversight and a commitment to drive ongoing learning and improvement. People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the management overall and felt involved in service development.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 01 August 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.