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Archived: Office S10, Bradshaw Support Limited

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Moulton Park Business Centre, Redhouse Road, Moulton Park Industrial Estate, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN3 6AQ (01604) 499099

Provided and run by:
Bradshaw Support Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 21 August 2019

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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings so 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.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission, but they did have someone who had applied and was going through the registration process. 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. The provider told us the current registered manager would be leaving the service, and someone new would be taking over this role shortly.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 30 July 2019 and ended on 31 July 2019. We visited the office location on 30 July 2019 to speak with the provider and look through records. We made phone calls to staff members on 31 July 2019.

What we did before the 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 looked at other information received from the provider, such as statutory notifications about events the provider must notify us about. We also reviewed feedback from other professionals who work with the service. We took all the information into account when we inspected the service and making the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

During our inspection we spoke with three care staff, the administrator, and the director who was also the provider. We reviewed the care records for three people using the service, and other records relating to the management oversight of the service, such as staff rotas and contingency planning.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 21 August 2019

About the service

Office S10, Bradshaw Support Limited provides care and support to people living in supported living settings. The service specialises in supporting people living with autism or those with a learning disability to live independently in their own homes. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

The service was providing different levels of support to 19 people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. At the time of inspection, only three people were receiving personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and nutrition. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

Allegations and concerns around financial abuse had been made against the service, concerning both ex and current staff members. At the time of inspection, there was an active police investigation into these concerns.

People did not always receive safe care and were not always protected against avoidable harm and abuse, The management team were in the process of reviewing their systems and making improvements in these areas.

Improvements had been made to recruitment practices to ensure that every staff member had employment references before starting work.

Communication with the staff team had been poor. The management team had begun to speak with the staff members about improvements that were planned.

Risks assessments and strategies were put in place to reduce the risks.

Staff were employed in sufficient numbers to meet people’s needs.

Where the provider took on the responsibility, people’s medicines were safely managed.

Systems were in place to continuously monitor the quality of the service.

The management were open and honest during our inspection and understood where improvements were required. The provider worked in partnership with outside agencies.

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 Requires improvement (published 02 July 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider had begun to make improvements, but only a short period of time had passed since the last inspection, and the rating reflects that it will take time to see these improvements embedded in practice and the areas of improvement sustained.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted due to ongoing concerns received about financial abuse, information received from the police about their ongoing investigation, the sustainability of the service, and the affect this may have on the safety and wellbeing of the people using the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We undertook a focused inspection to review the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led only. We are continuing to monitor information and make enquiries around these specific incidents, alongside the local authority and the police.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other Key Questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those Key Questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no new evidence during this inspection that the risk of harm to people had increased since our last inspection in June 2019.

The overall rating for the service remains Requires Improvement.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Office S10, Bradshaw Support Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.