Archived: Seaside Care Services

Seaside Care Services provides personal care to 18 adults who were living in purpose built sheltered accommodation. The people using the service all lived in self-contained flats, the company’s office is within this building on the first floor. The first and second floors hold 13 flats and then there are a further five flats on the ground floor. There are no communal areas within the building, however people using the service would attend the office to speak to staff and spend time with their key workers. The office had staff present 24 hours a day, with waking night staff working through the night to be available in case of any support required.

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. At the time of inspection six people were being supported with personal care.

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 that 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

People were kept safe by trained and experienced staff. The registered manager had followed safe recruitment processes to ensure appropriate staff were recruited. People were supported to take their medicines, and medicines were stored and managed in a safe way.

People had thorough risk assessments in place and staff showed good knowledge of people’s individual risks. People were supported to eat a balanced diet and staff worked well with other professional partners. This ensured people received joined up care where all professionals working with them were aware of changing needs.

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.

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 and become more independent.

People were supported by kind and caring staff that treated them with dignity and respect. People’s privacy was respected by staff. People were supported to make decisions about their care and independence was encouraged by staff.

People received personalised care and were supported to follow individual interests and hobbies. Care plans detailed the best ways to meet people’s individual communication needs and staff were effective in understanding this guidance and putting it in to practise.

There were mixed comments from staff about the registered manager and a recommendation has been made for the provider to address these inconsistencies found in staff comments.

Quality assurance audits were in place to identify any changes required to improve the service. People were offered the opportunity to provide feedback and the registered manager and staff were successfully working in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure the best outcomes for the people using the service.

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 23 May 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.

This inspection took place on 10 April 2017. The registered manager was given two working days’ notice of the inspection. This was the service’s first inspection since it was registered by CQC.

Seaside Care Services had 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. The provider is Sanctuary Home Care Limited. Sanctuary Home Care limited is a national provider of care.

People said they felt safe. People had assessments of their individual risks, which they had been involved in drawing up. Where risks were identified for people, they had clear care plans which set out how their risk was to be reduced. Staff were aware people could be vulnerable and might be at risk of abuse. They knew what actions to take should they identify a person was at risk of being abused.

People were supported to take their medicines in the way they needed, with some people being fully independent, while other people received support from staff. Actions staff were to take to support people with medicines were clearly set out in their care plans. Where people needed support with their drinks and meals, this was provided in a flexible way, depending on what each person needed.

There were enough staff on duty throughout the 24 hour period to ensure people’s individual needs were met. The provider had established systems, which were consistently followed, to ensure staff who were safe to work with people were recruited. People said staff were well trained. Staff confirmed they were supported with training and supervision to help them meet people’s diverse needs. Where people had additional healthcare needs, staff supported them in seeking appropriate support. Staff were also aware of how to support them in the event of an emergency.

People said staff supported them in both maintaining and increasing their independence. They said they chose how they lived their lives and were supported in making links within the local community, to increase their independence. Staff knew people as individuals and supported them in living the life they chose. People’s care plans clearly set out how they wanted to be supported.

People told us staff were caring and kindly towards them. They said staff respected their privacy and dignity, and always involved them in developing their own care plans. People said they knew how to raise issues with the registered manager if they needed to, and were confident the registered manager would take action should they do this.

People and staff were positive about both the registered manager and provider. The registered manager and provider regularly audited the quality and safety of service provision. If issues were identified, they took action to address them.