Background to this inspection
Updated
12 July 2019
The inspection
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.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one inspector.
Service and service type
Step-Forward Care Services is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a registered manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced and took place on 12 and 14 June 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at information we held about the service, including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example, the local authority and members of the public.
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 two people using the service to ask about their experience of care. We also spoke to two relatives of people by telephone. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and two support workers. We spoke with one healthcare professional who was visiting the service on the day of the inspection and one healthcare professional by telephone. We also received information from three healthcare professionals by email following the inspection.
We looked at the care records for two people, two staff employment related records and records relating to the quality and management of the service. Details are in the Key Questions below.
Updated
12 July 2019
About the service:
Step-Forward Care Services is a care home that provides nursing and personal care for people who may be living with mental health conditions. At the time of the inspection, two people lived at the service.
Step-Forward Care Services accommodates up to five people in one adapted building. Each person has their own individual room and there were shared facilities such as kitchen, laundry, and bathroom facilities. There was also one main living room and dining area where people watched TV and socialised together.
People’s experience of using this service:
People were supported by staff to stay safe and who treated them with respect and dignity and encouraged them to maintain their independence.
People were supported to receive their medicines as required to assist their wellbeing and people enjoyed a healthy diet with a choice of meals.
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. Staff sought people’s consent before providing support and staff liaised with other health care professionals to meet people’s health needs and support their wellbeing.
Staff knew people well and provided care in the way that people preferred. People and their relatives felt able to raise any concerns they may have with staff.
Staff received training that was appropriate to them in their role and they felt supported by the management team to provide a good standard of care.
People were supported to enjoy a range of activities and people received individualised care and support from staff.
The provider had quality assurance systems in place and we saw where action had been taken to make improvements. Staff said they felt supported and could talk to management, who they considered approachable, and felt confident any concerns would be acted on promptly.
The provider worked in partnership and collaboration with other key organisations to support care provision.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
This was the first inspection since the service registered in September 2016; the service first started supporting people in April 2017.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.