We carried out a review of the data available to us about Shapes Domiciliary Service on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Shapes Domiciliary Service, you can give feedback on this service.
Shapes Domiciliary Service is a care service providing personal care to children and young people aged between 0 and 25 with disabilities and complex health needs. There were 15 children and young people using the service at the time of the inspection, all of whom were aged under 18.
Not everyone who uses the service receives 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Parents and carers spoke highly of staff, describing their caring approach and saying they treated the whole family respectfully. They felt listened to and included in the care planning process. The service respected their wishes in terms of well-matched staff who worked with them.
Families trusted the small teams of staff who supported their child or young person and had confidence in their abilities. Risks to children and young people were assessed and managed in consultation with their parents. Medicines were managed safely. Staff followed infection prevention and control precautions.
Children’s and young people’s needs were assessed holistically before they started to receive care and were kept under review. The service worked closely with children’s and young people’s healthcare teams to plan and provide care that was tailored to their individual needs. Staff were supported through training and supervision to work safely and effectively, including providing specialised care if a child or young person needed this.
Parents and carers were positive about their child’s or young person’s care. They were involved in care planning and felt staff had a good understanding of the care and support their child needed. Parents and carers told us they knew who to speak with if they had a complaint or concern about the service. They said these were dealt with properly.
Parents, carers and staff said the service was well managed. There was good communication with families. The registered manager was experienced in their role, had a good understanding of their responsibilities and worked in an open and honest way. They oversaw a programme of quality assurance audits, monitoring accidents and incidents, and addressed any areas for improvement.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support:
¿ Whilst children and young people using the service were not all able to consent to their care, their wishes and preferences were central to decisions about their care. Care was designed and delivered to promote their independence.
¿ 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.
Right care:
¿ Care was highly individualised according to the child or young person’s needs. Parents and, as far as possible, children and young people, were meaningfully involved in care planning. Care promoted children’s and young people’s dignity, privacy and human rights.
Right culture:
¿ The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and staff ensured people using the service led confident, included and empowered lives. The registered manager and leadership team led by example, reflecting a person-centred, inclusive approach.
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 1 October 2019).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Shapes Domiciliary Service on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.
The service includes a day care service for young people aged between 16 and 25 who are transitioning between children’s and adults’ services. This falls outside the scope of its registration with CQC, so we did not review it during 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 was providing personal care to 13 people at the time of the inspection.
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 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. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Parents and their children were happy with the support they received from Shapes Domiciliary Service. Parents had the involvement they wished in planning their child’s care. Staff understood people’s and their families’ care needs and preferences, including how to support people with communication needs. Staff supported people to take part in activities of their choice, where the care package included this.
Parents said staff treated them, their child and the rest of the family with sensitivity and respect. Their and their children’s views were central to decisions about the care provided by the service. Staff knew people and their families well. Staffing for people’s care packages mirrored their family’s preferences. Parents told us staff encouraged their children to develop skills and do what they could for themselves.
People’s needs were assessed holistically when they first came to the service and were used to develop individualised, relevant care plans. These were kept up to date. Staff had the training they needed to support people safely and effectively. This included using specialist feeding techniques where people needed these. Staff routinely liaised with people’s health and social care professionals to provide updates or with queries or concerns about people’s health.
People and their families 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.
People were protected from avoidable harm. Risks to individual people were assessed and managed in consultation with their parents. Parents told us they trusted the staff who worked with their children. Staff were clear about their responsibilities for safeguarding children and reporting actual or suspected abuse. People had a regular staff team. Families received a rota, so they knew in advance who would be supporting them. Medicines were handled safely by competent staff. Staff were trained in infection control and food safety.
Parents trusted the registered manager and staff to be open and honest if something had not gone as it should. They had received information about how to make a complaint and said they would feel comfortable to do so if the need arose. Staff knew how to report accidents and incidents. The registered manager had a good overview of accidents, incidents and complaints.
Parents and staff expressed confidence in the leadership of the service. The registered manager understood their role well and maintained a good overview of the service. The person-centred culture of the service was evident in the way the registered manager and staff spoke about their work and the people and families they worked with. Staff had regular supervision; they felt well supported and knew what was expected of them.
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 for them to gain new skills.
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 24 February 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.
The inspection took place on 10, 25 and 31 January 2017 and was announced. One inspector visited the service, or people in their homes on each day of the inspection.
Young people were safeguarded because staff had received training and understood the signs of abuse. Risks were assessed and mitigated, and robust recruitment ensured that staff were suitable to work with children and young adults.
One young person we spoke with said, “They care, they are one brilliant company. They are probably the best people I have ever seen and they brighten my mood”. A relative commented that staff were, “Fabulous”, and the registered manager described the service saying, “It’s of a really good quality, and that’s important”.
Young people received personal care and support in an individualised way and their privacy was protected. Staff knew people well and demonstrated a good understanding of how they wished their care to be provided.
Young people’s needs were thoroughly assessed and care was planned and delivered to meet their needs. People’s healthcare needs were supported when this was required. Staff were knowledgeable about their role and spoke positively about the service and the support they received.
Young people and their families knew how to make a complaint and felt confident they would be listened to if they needed to raise concerns or queries. The provider sought feedback from people and changes were made if required.
There were systems in place to ensure improvements were made in regard to the safety and quality of the service provided.