Archived: Social Care Solutions Limited (Nottingham & Derby office)

Updated 2 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the registered persons continued to meet 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.

Before the inspection we examined the information we held about the service. This included notifications of incidents that the registered persons had sent us. These are events that happened in the service that the registered persons are required to tell us about. We also invited feedback from the commissioning bodies who contributed to purchasing some of the care provided by the service. We did this so that they could tell us their views about how well the service was meeting people’s needs and wishes.

We visited the service’s office on 30 May 2018 and the inspection was announced. We gave the registered persons a short period of notice because they are sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be available to contribute to the inspection. We spoke with a service manager, two team leaders who coordinated and organised the completion of care calls and we met with the registered manager. In addition, we looked at the care records for four people who used the service. We also examined records relating to how the service was run including the times and the duration of care calls, staffing, training and quality assurance.

Shortly after our inspection visit to the service’s office, we met three people in their homes, spoke by telephone with four people who used the service and with three of their relatives. We wanted to find out what it was like to receive care from the service. We also spoke by telephone with three care staff so that they could tell us about their experience of working in the service.

After our office inspection we asked the registered manager to send us information about the service around staffing, training and quality audits. This information was sent to us as agreed.

Updated 2 August 2018

Social Care Solutions Limited (Nottingham & Derby office) is a supported living service. This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘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. Supported living services enable people to live in their own home and receive care and/or support in order to promote their independence. At the time of our inspection 13 people were using this service. The service can support people who have a learning disability, special sensory needs and/or a physical disability. It can also assist people who have mental health needs. The service had its office in Nottingham providing support to people living in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

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. In this report when we speak about both the registered provider and the registered manager we refer to them as being, 'the registered persons'.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered at its new address.

At this inspection we found that there were systems, processes and practices to safeguard people from situations in which they may experience abuse including financial mistreatment. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed, monitored and managed so they were supported to stay safe while their freedom was respected.

Medicines were managed safely and sufficient numbers of suitable care staff had been deployed to complete care calls in the right way. Background checks had been completed before new care staff had been appointed. People were protected by there being arrangements to prevent and control infection and lessons had been learnt when things had gone wrong.

Care staff had been supported to deliver care in line with current best practice guidance. People received the assistance they needed to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet.

People had been supported to live healthier lives by being supported to have suitable access to healthcare services so that they received on-going healthcare support. Suitable arrangements had been made to obtain consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance.

People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion and they were given emotional support when needed. They had also been supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care as far as possible. This included access to lay advocates if necessary. Confidential information was kept private.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. As part of this people had been offered opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests. Care staff recognised the importance of promoting equality and diversity by supporting people to make choices about their lives.

People’s concerns and complaints were listened and responded to in order to improve the quality of care. In addition, suitable provision had been made to support people with there end of life wishes.

There was a positive culture in the service that was open, inclusive and focused upon achieving good outcomes for people. People and relatives benefited from there being a recent addition to the management framework that helped care staff to understand their responsibilities so that risks and regulatory requirements were met.

The views of people who used the service, relatives and care staff had been gathered and acted on to shape any improvements that were made.

The provider had adequate systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care people received. People benefited from the service being able to quickly put problems right and to innovate so that people could consistently receive safe care.

Good team work was promoted and care staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns about people not being treated in the right way. In addition, the registered persons were actively working in partnership with other agencies to support the development of joined-up care.