Background to this inspection
Updated
15 February 2022
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
Quality Services Ltd 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 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 announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used this information to plan our inspection.
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 the registered manager, the operations director who is also the deputy manager and three members of staff. We inspected three people’s care files and four staff files. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. As people were not able to tell us of their experiences, we observed their interactions with staff and the support staff provided.
After the inspection
We spoke with four relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
15 February 2022
Quality Services Ltd is a residential care home providing personal care for up to ten people living with autism, complex learning disabilities, epilepsy and behaviours that challenge. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting ten people.
People's experience of using this service and what we found:
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.
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 some of the underpinning principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.
Right Support:
• The model of care provision and the care setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence
Right Care:
• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights
Right Culture:
• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and car staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
Medicines administration records [MARs] were completed but we found two unexplained gaps in the records for one person on one occasion. The registered manager took immediate action to introduce a new auditing tool. This will help to ensure that records are maintained accurately, and people receive their medicines safely and as prescribed.
People told us they were safe and were protected from the risk of abuse. The service had safeguarding procedures in place that staff were well aware of. Staff received training on safeguarding people. Risk assessments and risk management strategies were in place as part of the assessment and support planning process. This meant risks to people and to staff were minimised.
There were robust recruitment practices in place and sufficient staff levels to meet people's needs.
The provider ensured that all their staff received appropriate training and support to understand and to manage COVID-19. This included best practice for infection control and the use of PPE. Staff also received appropriate guidance on how to support people with dementia to understand the pandemic and COVID-19. The provider made appropriate support services available to staff in order to support their mental wellbeing through the pandemic and if they became unwell and when they returned to work.
There were systems in place to ensure that accidents, incidents and risks were appropriately recorded and included details of preventive strategies used by the service to reduce the likelihood of events occurring in the future.
Assessments were thorough and expected outcomes were identified. Support plans were reviewed and updated as people’s needs changed. People were supported by staff who knew them well and were able to identify people’s likes and dislikes. They were supported to eat and drink according to their dietary requirements taking into consideration people’s preferences.
Staff received comprehensive training in all the necessary areas of their work. Staff had regular supervision with the registered manager, and they told us they felt supported.
People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. This was echoed by people’s relatives. They told us staff had the right skills to deliver appropriate care and support. Staff were able to communicate with people well. Information was provided in various formats where required.
People and their relatives were confident that any feedback whether this was positive or negative would be addressed appropriately and resolved by the registered manager. They told us the registered manager welcomed feedback and they said complaints were dealt with swiftly and professionally.
People told us they thought the service was well led and that they were very happy with the support they received.
There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people which ensured good governance. Technology was used effectively by the provider to ensure people were informed promptly about potentially missed or late calls. The service had systems in place to notify the appropriate authorities where concerns were identified. The culture of the service was positive, open and person centred.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update:
This service was registered with us as a new provider on 13 February 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the length of time since the service was registered with the CQC under a new provider.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service and we will re-inspect when we feel it is necessary.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk