Background to this inspection
Updated
28 April 2015
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.
This inspection took place on 10 February 2015 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the service is small and the manager is often out of the office. We needed to be sure they would be available to speak with us on the day of our inspection. The inspection was completed by a single inspector.
Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service which included notifications we had received in the past 12 months. The service is required to submit these notifications to CQC, and it includes any event which significantly affects people who use the service, or the service itself.
During the inspection we went to the provider’s office and spoke with the service manager, team manager and two project managers. We looked at records for five children and three members of staff and other records relating to the management of the service. After the inspection visit we contacted four parents whose children used the service and spoke with a care worker. We were not able to talk with children and young people directly as many of them could not communicate verbally with us. After the inspection we also had telephone feedback from two social workers and a local authority commissioner.
Updated
28 April 2015
The inspection took place on 10 February 2015 and was announced. The last inspection of the service was on 2 October 2013 and there were no breaches of legal requirements at the last inspection.
Barnardo’s West London Short Breaks is a domiciliary care provider that provides personal care for children and young people. At the time of our inspection they were providing a service to 26 children or young people, who had been assessed under the Children Act 1989 as ‘children in need’ because of their disability. The children and young people that receive a service have autism, learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge. Many are unable to communicate verbally.
The service 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.
Parents told us they felt confident with care workers looking after their children. Care workers knew what action to take to ensure children and young people were protected from harm. Risks to young people’s welfare had been assessed and clear guidance put in place to minimise the identified risks, be it at home or in the community.
Care workers were carefully selected at recruitment stage. The service ensured children and young people were matched with care workers who were able to meet their specific needs and interests. Care workers received appropriate training and support, and the service made sure their skills and knowledge were kept up to date.
There was an emphasis from parents and the service to provide continuity and consistency of care workers to the children and young people they provided a service to. There was a primary and secondary care worker so that children were as far as possible cared for by someone they knew.
People were encouraged to make comments and complaints about the care and support they experienced. The service had appropriate arrangements in place to deal with these effectively.
All support plans for children and young people were thorough, comprehensive and reviewed regularly. There were systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. Parent’s views and experiences were continually sought about how the service could be improved and these were acted on.