Archived: Affinity Trust - Domiciliary Care Agency - East Sussex

Updated 24 November 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 29 and 30 August 2017 and was announced. The provider was called the day before our inspection to let them know we were coming. We did this because staff were sometimes out of the office and we needed to be sure there would be someone available. Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Affinity Trust Domiciliary Care service is registered to provide personal care. Support is provided to people living in their own homes. There were ten self-contained one bedroom flats on the site and there was also a communal lounge area, separate office and sleep in area for staff. At the time of inspection there were nine people using the service.

We spent the first day of our inspection at the registered office in St Leonards on Sea. The second day of our inspection was in Hailsham where people lived and we met with people and staff.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed other information we held about the service. This included notifications of events that had affected the service such as any safeguarding investigations. At the time of our inspection there was one safeguarding which had been raised by a family member and this was subject to an ongoing investigation.

We met with three people, the registered manager, service manager, team leader and a staff member. We reviewed three people’s support plans and risk assessments and aspects of another person’s support plans. We also looked at recruitment records for two members of staff, quality monitoring audits and other records relating to the management of the service. Following our inspection we received feedback from two relatives of people living at the service.

This was the first inspection since the service was set up.

Updated 24 November 2017

Affinity Trust Domiciliary Care Agency East Sussex is a domiciliary care service based in St Leonards on Sea. However, support provided is in the Hailsham area. The service provides support and personal care to people with learning disabilities in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting nine people with a variety of health and social needs. People had varied needs and required support with autism, epilepsy and behaviours that challenged.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 29 and 30 August 2017 and was announced. This was the first inspection carried out since the service was registered in September 2015.

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.

People and staff spoke positively about the service and the support provided to them. The organisation had systems to monitor and review the quality of the care and support provided and some areas of record keeping had been identified before our inspection. We too assessed there were some areas of quality assurance where further development was needed and we made recommendations in relation to the quality of some record keeping.

People told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. They said they were looked after well. People knew who to speak with if they had any concerns or worries.

There were good systems for the management of medicines that ensured people who needed support were given this safely. There was information in care plans about how people liked to take their medicines. Staff had received training on medicines and there were systems to monitor their competency in this area.

Staff attended regular supervision meetings and told us they were very well supported by the management of the agency. Staff meetings were used to ensure staff were kept up to date and to hear their views on day to day issues. Staff attended regular training to ensure they could meet people’s needs. There was a thorough induction to the service and staff felt confident to meet people’s needs before they worked independently.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA and DoLS are regulations that have to be followed to ensure people who cannot make decisions for themselves are protected. They also ensured people were not having their freedom restricted or deprived unnecessarily.

Care plans gave staff detailed advice and guidance on how to meet people’s needs. People told us they had been involved as part of the process. Care plans were reviewed regularly and as and when people’s needs changed. If professional advice and support was sought then this was included within the documentation.

Risk assessments were carried out in relation to people’s homes and to their individual needs and where necessary actions were taken to mitigate risks to reduce the risk of accidents or injuries.

There was good leadership in the home and staff knew they could speak with the registered manager or site manager whenever they needed to.