Freedom Support

Updated 10 September 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

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector on 7 August 2019.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone using the service received the regulated activity 'personal care'. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

We gave the service 48 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 since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We met with two people who used the service, but they were not always able to communicate clearly about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, two managers and two care workers. We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, two managers and two care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 10 September 2019

About the service

Freedom Support is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection there were five people receiving personal care.

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

There was a registered manager at the service, they had been registered since January 2016. The registered manager promoted a positive culture where people and staff could feedback about the service, so the quality of care could continue to improve.

People were involved in assessing and managing their own safety. Staff supported people to stay safe and understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm.

People were involved in their risk assessments and care planning. People’s risks were assessed at regular intervals or as their needs changed. Care plans informed staff how to provide care that mitigated these known risks. People’s medicines were managed in a safe way.

People were actively supported to live a healthy lifestyle. People’s health and well-being had been improved by the vigilance and actions of staff and the management team.

People received care from staff they knew. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs, choices and preferences. People were encouraged to make decisions about how their care was provided and their privacy and dignity were protected and promoted. Staff gained people's consent before providing personal care.

People with a disability or sensory loss had access to information in a form that met their individual needs and preferences.

People were encouraged to achieve their goals and become more independent.

People were supported to express themselves, their views were acknowledged and acted upon. There was a complaints system in place and people were confident that any complaints would be responded to appropriately.

Staff were recruited using safe recruitment practices. Staff received training and support to enable them to meet people’s needs and carry out their roles.

The management team continually monitored the quality of the service, identifying issues and making changes to improve the care.

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.

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 3 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.