County Care Independent Living Ltd

Updated 31 August 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and outreach support to people living in their own homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short notice period of the inspection because we needed to arrange calls to people who used the service and relatives.

Inspection activity started on 13 July 2023 and ended on 21 July 2023. We visited the service’s office on 13 July 2023.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since its registration, monitoring activity we had carried out with the provider, and feedback forms we received from people who used the service and their families. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 2 relatives to hear their views about the quality of care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and the provider’s director of care about how the service was run. We received feedback from 3 professionals who had worked with the service, and from 5 staff about the support and training they received.

We checked 3 people’s care records, including their risk assessments and support plans, and 3 staff recruitment records. We reviewed quality audits, accident and incident records, the complaints log, the results of surveys returned by people who used the service, professionals and staff, and the provider’s business contingency plan.

Updated 31 August 2023

About the service

County Care Independent Living Ltd provides care and support to people living in their own homes. The service is registered to support autistic people, people with learning disabilities, people with mental health needs, older people, people with a physical disability, and people with sensory impairment. The service is also registered to provide care for children, although was not supporting anyone under the age of 18 at the time of our inspection. In addition to support with personal care, the service provides outreach support, a Community Skills Project, and reablement support.

CQC only inspects services 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 supported 350 people at the time of our inspection, 14 of whom received support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, and supported people to enjoy fulfilling and meaningful lives. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations.

The service was exceptionally flexible to meet people’s needs. Staff went above and beyond expectations to ensure people received the support they needed to live their lives as they chose. People were supported to be active and valued members of their local community.

Managers and staff worked exceptionally hard to support people to learn new skills, increase their independence and ensure people did not become socially isolated. People were supported to take part in activities they enjoyed and to maintain relationships with their friends and families, which greatly enhanced their quality of life.

Staff supported people to maintain good health and the provider ensured important information was made available to people in formats that were accessible to them.

Staff had the induction, ongoing training and support they needed to carry out their roles. Regular one-to-one supervision provided opportunities for staff to discuss their performance and any further training needs.

Right care

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff understood their responsibilities in protecting people from abuse and knew how to report any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures helped ensure only suitable staff were employed.

People received consistent care from staff who knew them well. Staff were kind and caring and responded to people’s individual needs. People were able to choose how they used their support, which maximised choice and control over their lives.

Right culture

Staff respected people’s individuality, protected their rights and advocated for them when necessary. There was a real focus on supporting and enabling people to be involved in their local communities.

The provider was committed to involving people who used the service, their families and staff in developing and improving the service. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. The provider used any concerns or complaints received as opportunities to improve the service.

The provider’s governance arrangements were effective in keeping people safe and ensuring the care they received met their individual needs. Staff felt valued for the work they did and were well-supported in their roles. Managers and staff had established good working relationships with other professionals to ensure people received well-co-ordinated care and support.

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 29 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.